James Ward-Prowse gives Southampton win at Fulham yet fans jeer Pellegrino

It is a measure of Southampton’s growing strife that this slender victory over a Championship side with problems of their own was not enough to stop their fans turning on Mauricio Pellegrino near the end, greeting the manager’s decision to withdraw Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg by directing loud boos and mutinous chants at the away dugout at Craven Cottage.

Less than 24 hours after Virgil van Dijk marked his Liverpool debut with the winner in the Merseyside derby, the £75m centre-back’s former club were closing in on a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to James Ward-Prowse’s first goal of the season when Pellegrino decided to make a late change in midfield, replacing Hojbjerg with the more defensive Mario Lemina with 10 minutes to go. In one angry moment a comfortable workout for the Premier League strugglers, who kept Fulham at arm’s length for most of the afternoon, became a reminder of their darkening mood.

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