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Fulham 0 - Southampton 3: English lads fire Saints to victory
SOUTHAMPTON’S trio of England World Cup hopefuls sunk Fulham with an awesome display that will surely have had Roy Hodgson purring with delight.
Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez all found the net as the England manager watched from the stands.
No-one had been busier on transfer deadline day than Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen, with ?ve new faces arriving and four departing.
Only two could start – on-loan Lewis Holtby from Tottenham and Danish mid? elder William Kvist – as Craven Cottage got used to life without Dimitar Berbatov, Philippe Senderos, Aaron Hughes and Adel Taarabt.
It all ended unhappily though, and Fulham now ?nd themselves at the foot of the table.
“It’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in football and the biggest challenge Fulham Football Club has faced in many years,” admitted Meulensteen, who will be able to pick Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga and Greece forward Kostas Mitroglou next week.
Lallana netted the ?rst just after the hour mark after Lambert had set him up on the left of the box, with a low left-foot ?nish getting the better of Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Rodriguez had a part in the second, dummying substitute Nathaniel Clyne’s cross for Lambert to bury.
And Lambert, back following injury, fed Rodriguez for the third – a cracking curler into the top corner after he had made Brede Hangeland look ordinary.
“That’s always going to increase their chances of going to Brazil,” said Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino of his in-form England trio’s goals.