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QPR 0 - Southampton 1: Saints overtake Man Utd and Spurs as Mane strikes late
TIM SHERWOOD cannot arrive quickly enough after Sadio Mane stung QPR with a late winner
Sadio Mane celebrates his late winner for Southampton at QPR
Harry Redknapp quit to have an operation on his knees, but it’s his former team which are on theirs after this latest disaster.
Outclassed for most of the game, Rangers at least showed some spirit for their manager elect, who the club hopes to appoint next week.
But Mane broke Hoops’ hearts to keep Southampton’s Champions League push on course with a stoppage-time strike.
Rangers don’t just need Sherwood though. They need a miracle. Two points from 21 is relegation form.
Caretaker Rangers coach Chris Ramsey said: “I don’t know who’s coming in but it gives a lot of hope to the owners and the fans to see the players are fihting.’’
Defining win - Koeman; QPR passing sloppy - Ramsey [AMBIENT]
We dominated the game but we didn’t score. They made it difficult. It was really a battle
Chairman Tony Fernandes needs to act fast. Rangers are in free fall. Even after Saints’ Matt Targett was carried off in a neck brace and taken to hospital after a nasty fall following an aerial collision, Southampton continued to threaten – until Mane applied the killer touch.
Play was halted for around six minutes while Targett was treated, but Saints boss Ronald Koeman said afterwards: “He’s under control. That’s very good news. The message from the doctor was positive.”
He added: “We dominated the game but we didn’t score. They made it difficult. It was really a battle. In the end I think we were lucky and then we finally scored in the last minute.”
There was potentially devastating news for Rangers though when 13- goal leading scorer Charlie Austin left the ground on crutches with a foot injury. He will be assessed today to see how long he will be out
QPR: Green, Dunne (Vargas 83), Hill, Caulker, Phillips, Onuoha, Barton, Traore (Isla 73), Fer, Taarabt (Zarate 63), Austin.
SO’TON: Forster, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Targett (Gardos 26), Wanyama (Schneiderlin 61), Mane, Davis, Ward-Prowse, Pelle, Elia (Tadic 80).
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