Che Adams double gives Southampton comeback win over Sheffield United

No golden boot for Danny Ings but the silver lining here was a rare home victory for Southampton thanks to two goals by their less heralded striker, Che Adams. Naturally Ings also got on the scoresheet, wrapping up the win by converting a late penalty.

As if summarising their season, Southampton had to recover from a bad start, with John Lundstram firing Sheffield United into a first-half lead before Ralph Hassenhüttl’s side stormed back.

It was as tribute to both clubs that the result did not matter much. Before the season started it was widely expected that Sheffield United’s fate would be sealed long before the final day but few people imagined that meant a top-half finish would already have been secured. Chris Wilder’s men have defied expectations throughout the campaign so as others fought for survival elsewhere, the Blades could afford to frolic on the south coast.

Yet they began this game the same focus and intensity they have shown from the outset and they deserved to go in front.

Lundstram made the breakthrough in the 26th minute thanks to a fetching cross from the left by Enda Stevens and flimsy defending by Jannik Vestergaard, leaving the midfielder to ram a shot under goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from eight yards.

With Southampton already sure of being safe in the bottom half of the table following their recovery from that historic 9-0 beating by Leicester, the result was not a pressing concern for them, either. But they had their pride and wanted to extend a six-game unbeaten run and improve their home record, with only Norwich having a worse one than them in the Premier League this season. However, Hassenhüttl omitted his captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg amid active transfer interest from Everton and Tottenham.

There was never any danger of Ings being left out, as he still had hopes of climbing to the top of the Premier League scoring charts. But both he and Adams were well controlled by the three visiting centre-backs in the first half. Southampton had plenty of possession but could not infiltrate United’s characteristically tight defence in the first half. The only save that Dean Henderson had to make in the first period was from a gentle long-range effort by Nathan Redmond.

United would have been further in front at the interval if not for McCarthy. The goalkeeper prevailed in a one-on-one contest with Billy Sharp even before United scored and then, in the 34th minute, he made a tremendous save to stop Lundstram from scoring again. That chance arose from a counterattack triggered by a mistake by Kyle Walker-Peters.

Sloppiness by United enabled Adams to draw level early in the second half. Basham and Sander Berge were guilty of ropey passes before Adams beat the goalkeeper on loan from Manchester United with a shot that David De Gea would have saved. Probably.

McCarthy soon erred at the other end to present Sharp with a chance to put United in front but Oriol Romeu made an excellent tackle. By now Southampton were the better team. Adams confirmed that by finishing smartly from eight yards after Egan blocked a shot by Walker-Peters. When Ollie Norwood conceded a penalty, Ings fittingly had the last word.