West Bromwich Albion on Monday improved their slender hopes of avoiding relegation from the English Premier League as they survived video assistant referee (VAR) controversy to beat Southampton 3-0, while Everton’s fading top four bid was damaged by a 0-0 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Baggies saw Mbaye Diagne’s goal questionably ruled out by VAR early in the first half at the Hawthorns, but manager Sam Allardyce’s side recovered from that blow to sweep to a two-goal lead by halftime thanks to Matheus Pereira’s penalty and a Matt Phillips strike.
Callum Robinson sealed West Brom’s second successive win after the interval as they built on their stunning 5-2 victory at Chelsea.
Photo: Reuters
Second-bottom West Brom move within eight points of fourth-bottom Newcastle United with seven games left.
The Baggies have scored eight goals in their past two games, two more than they had netted in their previous 11 combined, but their unexpected revival might have come too late to save them from slipping into the EFL Championship.
“We have had two very important wins that are pricking up people’s ears, but unfortunately we have to rely on other people losing,” Allardyce said.
Photo: AFP
Southampton’s limp display was the worst possible preparation for next weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Leicester City.
After just four minutes it looked like being a frustrating evening for West Brom.
Diagne nodded in from close range and was flagged offside, with VAR backing the onfield call because television cameras could not get the right angle to conclusively prove the striker was on or offside.
Asked if he thought the system was in danger of becoming a laughing stock, Allardyce said: “I’m afraid so... The decision was wrong. We got the angle — there are 16 cameras at least here and we got the angle clear on our screens — they came to the wrong decision because of human error.”
However, Pereira was brought down by Saints ’keeper Fraser Forster in the 32nd minute and the Brazilian picked himself up to dispatch the spot-kick.
Phillips got the second three minutes later when he converted Diagne’s cross at the far post.
Robinson put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute when he drilled in from Okay Yokuslu’s pass.
Adding to Southampton’s woes, Johnstone saved James Ward-Prowse’s stoppage-time penalty after Conor Townsend’s foul on Moussa Djenepo.
At the Amex Stadium, Everton were hoping to close the gap on fourth placed West Ham United in the race to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, but manager Carlo Ancelotti’s team managed only one shot on target as their winless run extended to five games in all competitions.
Brighton dominated for long periods and Neal Maupay and Yves Bissouma, with a spectacular overhead kick, both went close in the first half.
Lewis Dunk’s goalbound flick brought a fine save from Everton ’keeper Robin Olsen after the break.
Maupay and Jakub Moder were narrowly off target as Brighton pressed for a winner, but Alex Iwobi nearly snatched the points for Everton when he flashed his shot wide in the last minute.
Everton, in eighth place, are seven points behind West Ham with a game in hand, while Brighton moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.
“The attitude of the team was good, the quality of the play was not so good,” said Ancelotti, who was without injured England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. “The last four games were not good. We have difficulties in this moment, but we need to move on.
“We are still in the fight. It is more difficult but we will not give up. It is a strange season with unpredictable results,” he added.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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