RAID IN CHELSEA
Livramento and pal Broja hit right notes after leaving moody Blues for all Saints
HECTOR NUNNS SOUTHAMPTON are reaping a rich reward from plundering the Chelsea academy.
The Saints star performers in this entertaining draw were 18-year-old Tino Livramento and young Albanian international striker Armando Broja.
Both players, who have known each other for a decade, found the path to the first team blocked at Stamford Bridge. But the pair have been given a real chance at Southampton, with manager Ralph Hasenhuttl letting them loose in the Premier League. And they are not disappointing.
Buccaneering right-back Livramento, who made a permanent £5million move in the summer, headed a first senior goal after earlier hitting a post.
And after the break Broja,
20, on loan from the Blues and in ahead of the £15m signing Adam Armstrong, made it two goals in two starts in the top flight with another cool finish.
The goals were even more welcome after Nathan Redmond was left red-faced following a dreadful miss-ofthe-season contender.
Livramento said: “Scoring is one of the best feelings I have had so far. I was happy to help the team but it would have been nice to top it off with three points. It was a bit flat in the dressing room because we should have won the game. But probably Burnley will feel like they should have won it as well.
“For me it is a case of so far, so good, but I just have to keep my head down and take every opportunity, progress, work hard and help the team.
“Armando had to wait a little
bit but he was patient. I have known him since the age of nine, and I knew that when he got the opportunity here he would take it.
“I’m really happy for him that he’s showing it on the biggest stage. It is a bit surreal, both having grown up at Chelsea in the youth groups together.
“As for Nathan’s miss…you can’t dwell on that. On another day he definitely scores, and he’s really helping the young lads. He’s an experienced pro and was the first to hold his hands up.”
Hasenhuttl said of his Chelsea young guns: “We are very happy to have them here, they are talented young players.
“In the youth team of the European champions it is tough to get in the first team. Here they get a chance to play.
“Tino is playing because he is fantastic.
But when he ar- rived we had Kyle Walker-Pe- ters in that position. For a young lad to come thinking he can win that position is maybe not so normal.
“Armando has the speed and one against one he is a threat for defenders.”
Hasenhuttl cursed the chances wasted by Redmond and Theo Walcott. “You score two goals at home and you should win,” he said. “We needed more goals from the chances we had.”
Maxwel Cornet headed Burnley into an 11th-minute lead but, after the chances squandered by Walcott and Redmond, Livramento headed Saints level. Broja put them ahead with an angled drive into the far corner, but Cornet caught out Alex McCarthy with a 25-yard shot taken early on the volley.