Romeu and Ward-Prowse leave Ranieri staring into the abyss
CLAUDIO RANIERI’s Fulham reign could be nearing its end after another loss left his side with little hope of dodging relegation from the Premier League. Ranieri looked a beaten man as he stood with arms folded throughout and watched Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton move out of the bottom three. It was more of their trademark dire defending that cost the Cottagers here, with this the 22nd time this season that Fulham conceded at least twice. They are 10 points adrift of safety and the sight of their March fixture list will not lift spirits. Fulham face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as Leicester. Whether Ranieri will be in charge for that return to the King Power Stadium in nine days’ time remains to be seen. Fulham resembled sitting ducks in the opening stages and Southampton took the lead in the 23rd minute. Ryan Bertrand’s corner led to a poor punched clearance by Sergio Rico and the ball fell invitingly to Oriol Romeu, who hit a shot from 22 yards. All 11 Fulham players were inside the box, but the shot escaped every man and hit the back of the net. It was 2-0 before half time as Bertrand forced Rico into the save. The keeper palmed the ball into the path of James Ward-Prowse, who tapped in. Remarkably, Ranieri went into this winless in his last 22 Premier League away matches — 15 for Leicester, seven for Fulham. The away fans unfurled a banner towards the end of the match, mocking the words of owner Shahid Khan, who said Ranieri was ‘risk-free’ following the appointment. With hindsight, nothing could be further from the truth. They sang about Ranieri not knowing what he is doing, showing they are no longer on his side. But for Hasenhuttl, things are looking up.
SOUTHAMPTON (3-5-2): Gunn 6.5; Bednarek 6.5, Yoshida 7, Vestergaard 7; Valery 7, Ward-Prowse 7.5, ROMEU 8, Hojbjerg, Bertrand 7; Redmond 7.5, Austin 7 (Long 64, 6). Subs not used: McCarthy, Stephens, Targett, Elyounoussi, Armstrong, Gallagher. Scorers: Romeu 23, Ward-Prowse 40. Manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl 7.5. FULHAM (4-3-3): Rico 4; Odoi 5, Nordveit 4, Ream 4.5, Bryan 4.5; Chambers 5, McDonald 5 (R Sessegnon 69, 6), Anguissa 5; Cairney 5 (Vietto 69, 6), Mitrovic 5.5, Babel 5. Subs not used: Fabricio, Ayite, Christie, Markovic, Cisse. Booked: McDonald. Manager: Claudio Ranieri 5. Referee: Anthony Taylor 6. Attendance: 27,597.
Next up: Man Utd v SOUTHAMPTON, Saturday FULHAM v Chelsea, Sunday