Stat Attack: All you need to know about Southampton 1-2 Newcastle

Chris Wood and Bruno Guimaraes both scored their first goals for Newcastle as the Magpies beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary's.

Stuart Armstrong nodded in the opener on 25 minutes for the Saints, when his close-range header took a deflection off Dan Burn that diverted the ball past Martin Dubravka and into the net.

But Wood levelled the scores seven minutes later with a header of his own, powering the ball into the top-left corner after Jonjo Shelvey's delivery from deep.

Guimaraes then won the game for the visitors in the 52nd minute, as he found the back of the net with a stunning backheeled volley from Burn's knockdown following a corner.

Wood credited Newcastle's hard work for the victory and hailed the spirit of their squad.

He said: "It was a very tough, hard-fought win. They’re a very good side, especially on their home patch. That’s what we’re trying to instil in this team. 

"[The win] shows the character in the dressing room. It’s fantastic for the lads. They’ve worked hard and deserve it. 

"It’s taken hard work on the training ground, hard work in games. We’re still in a battle, we still need to keep pushing up the table and make ourselves mathematically safe as soon as possible."

Southampton head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl, meanwhile, admitted to feeling frustrated with the result.

He said: "For sure we’re frustrated. We lost against a team who were fighting hard for the three points, had few chances. We had I think 11 shots inside the box and only scored once. That was the difference today. 

"The first 15 minutes after the second goal were tough for us, but in the last 20 minutes I felt we tried again to play how we can play. We had good opportunities to score against a deep-defending team.

"Players were lying on the ground with cramps and everything. I don’t know if they were doing it to break our rhythm.

"It’s not surprising that we lost a home game again, but the way we lost it for me was not necessary. I don’t know if we were the worst team today – no.

"It’s not about having possession. Football is a low-scoring game and we need to score in the right moments.

"Winning games in the Premier League is always tough. We have the next chance on Sunday at home and hopefully we’re a little more clinical then."

Did you know?

Southampton have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since November, losing on home soil in the top flight for the first time in 11 games.

In 2022, only Liverpool (22) have won more points in the Premier League than Newcastle (20).

Since the start of last season, Southampton have dropped 46 points from winning positions in the Premier League, nine more than any other side.

Wood and Guimaraes were the 159th and 160th different players to score for Newcastle in the Premier League (excluding own goals), with the Magpies now boasting the joint-most scorers in the competition’s history (level with West Ham).

Since the start of 2017-18, Wood has scored 18 headed goals in the Premier League, with no player managing more in the competition during this period (level with Dominic Calvert-Lewin).