2016–17 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton began their pre-season preparations against the D.C. United Under-23s on 15 July 2016, winning 2–0 thanks to a first-half goal from James Ward-Prowse and a late penalty by Jay Rodriguez. Commencing a tour of the Netherlands the following week, the Saints beat PEC Zwolle 4–0 on 23 July, with Charlie Austin opening the scoring before new signings Nathan Redmond (twice) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (with a penalty) scored their first goals for the club. Four days later, the side won their third consecutive game by beating FC Twente 2–1, with defender Virgil van Dijk and striker Sam Gallagher getting on the scoresheet. The club ended their Dutch tour by extending their winning run to four with a win over FC Groningen on 30 July, the only goal scored by Austin. Upon their return to England, the Saints hosted Spanish side Espanyol on 3 August, which they drew 1–1 to end their winning run. Midfielder Oriol Romeu opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half, but Felipe Caicedo equalised for the visitors in the second half through a penalty, which was awarded for a foul in the penalty area by van Dijk on Léo Baptistão. ==Premier League==

August–October 2016 took over from Ronald Koeman as Southampton manager at the beginning of the 2016–17 season. Southampton began the 2016–17 Premier League season on 13 August 2016 with a home fixture against Watford, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Watford midfielder Étienne Capoue opened the scoring for the visitors within ten minutes, before winger Nathan Redmond scored on his debut shortly after half-time to seal a point for the hosts. Zlatan Ibrahimović opened the scoring for the hosts shortly before half-time, and later scored his second from the penalty spot after the break following a foul by Jordy Clasie on former Southampton defender Luke Shaw. The game remained goalless until late in the game, when Jermain Defoe opened the scoring with a penalty for a foul by José Fonte, before Jay Rodriguez equalised five minutes before full-time. The Saints opened the scoring within the first 20 minutes, when a Dušan Tadić free kick deflected off goalkeeper Petr Čech into the goal. On 25 September, Southampton travelled to the London Stadium to face West Ham United, winning 3–0 to move up to the top half of the league table. The Saints dominated much of the game, with Austin opening the scoring just before half-time with his fifth goal in four games (in all competitions). Austin came closest to scoring in the first half, hitting the post once and heading on goal twice. After a goalless first half, the Saints scored three goals in 15 minutes to take a commanding lead, with Austin opening the scoring after 52 minutes and Redmond scoring on 60 minutes. Redmond opened the scoring for the Saints in the 27th minute after a mistake by City defender John Stones, although the visitors did not have many more chances to score in the first half. November–December 2016 scored four goals in four games between 17 September and 15 October 2016 to help Southampton move up to the top half of the table. On 6 November, Southampton lost 2–1 at the struggling Hull City. The Saints went a goal up within six minutes, when Charlie Austin scored a penalty awarded for a foul by Curtis Davies. Former Saints winger Sadio Mané came close to opening the scoring for the visitors twice in the first half, before Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne also missed good chances later on, with the home side's defence playing strongly to keep Liverpool out. Charlie Austin scored in the first minute to put the hosts ahead, converting a cross from debutant Josh Sims. Christian Benteke opened the scoring for the home side in the 33rd minute after a poor clearance from Fraser Forster, before James Tomkins double Palace's lead just a few minutes later from close range. After a first half of relatively few chances, Sofiane Boufal broke the deadlock shortly after the break with his first Premier League goal, striking from around 25 yards out. The hosts were reduced to ten men early on when Marko Arnautović was sent off for a high-footed challenge, but the visitors failed to take advantage and break the deadlock. Nathan Aké opened the scoring for the Cherries within six minutes, but Ryan Bertrand scored less than ten minutes later to bring the Saints level. The home side opened the scoring quickly in the second minute when Virgil van Dijk headed in a free kick from James Ward-Prowse, but it was the visitors who scored next as Delle Alli scored a header from Moussa Sissoko's deflected cross. After enjoying the majority of possession in the first half, the hosts went one up through Shane Long just before half-time, although the lead was short-lived as Matt Phillips equalised just a minute later. After much of the game lacked clear chances on goal, the home side opened the scoring after 73 minutes when Enner Valencia scored his first goal for the club. The visitors came closest to opening the scoring in the first half through Dušan Tadić, whose shot was cleared off the line, and also enjoyed the majority of chances in the second period. James Ward-Prowse opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a first-time shot after a Cédric Soares cross from the right wing. After a relatively slow start, Swansea opened the scoring through Alfie Mawson in the 38th minute, going into half-time with the advantage. New signing Manolo Gabbiadini opened the scoring on his debut after 12 minutes, but the visitors equalised just two minutes later through Andy Carroll. After a relatively even opening to the game, Gabbiadini opened the scoring for the Saints after half an hour with his second goal in his second game, converting a cross from Ryan Bertrand. The hosts went ahead within four minutes through captain Troy Deeney, but the Saints responded and equalised 24 minutes later through Dušan Tadić following some poor defending. Christian Eriksen opened the scoring within 15 minutes from the edge of the penalty area, before Dele Alli doubled the home side's lead with a 33rd-minute penalty awarded for a foul by Steven Davis. The hosts enjoyed the majority of possession early on, with a goal from Jay Rodriguez being disallowed due to offside. Both sides created chances on goal early in the game, but it was the visitors who struck first through Christian Benteke in the 31st minute. Jordy Clasie scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute, striking his first Premier League goal from the edge of the penalty area. After a goalless first half, the visitors opened the scoring ten minutes after the half-time break when Vincent Kompany headed in a corner from David Silva. Eden Hazard opened the scoring for the hosts within five minutes, before Oriol Romeu scored his first goal of the season to bring Southampton level. The game saw very few chances for either side, with only three shots on target in the 90 minutes. The game featured very few chances on goal for either side, with the Saints failing to manage a shot on target the entire 90 minutes. After a first half with very few chances for either side, the visitors opened the scoring after 60 minutes when Alexis Sánchez beat two defenders to score his 20th league goal of the season. With a markedly changed lineup (including the debut of centre-back Martín Cáceres), the Saints started the game slowly, but opened the scoring through Jay Rodriguez shortly before half-time. The Saints were awarded a penalty within the opening five minutes for a handball by Eric Bailly; the penalty was taken by Manolo Gabbiadini but saved by Sergio Romero. Nathan Redmond gave the hosts their best chance of the game when he hit the bar at the end of the first half, before former Southampton striker Peter Crouch scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark. The home side had a number of chances to equalise in the second half through Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse and Sofiane Boufal, but goalkeeper Jack Butland made a number of saves to deny them. Due to Bournemouth losing and West Bromwich Albion drawing, Southampton remained eighth in the Premier League table. League table Results by matchday Matches ==FA Cup==

scored the only goal of the game in the third round replay against Norwich City on 18 January 2017. ;Norwich City (7 January 2017) Southampton entered the 2016–17 FA Cup in the third round, facing Championship side Norwich City on 7 January 2017 in a match which ended in a 2–2 draw. The Premier League side went one up after 37 minutes, when defender Virgil van Dijk converted a cross from winger Dušan Tadić. The game featured very few chances for either side until late in the game, with Norwich having no shots on target and only three shots overall in the full 90 minutes, with the hosts enjoying the majority of possession. Danny Welbeck, in his first start since May 2016, opened the scoring after 15 minutes and doubled the visitors' lead just seven minutes later, the second set up by former Southampton player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ten minutes before half-time Theo Walcott, another former Saint, scored a third for Arsenal. The Gunners continued to dominate in the second half, with Walcott scoring two more to complete his hat-trick and give the visitors a 5–0 win. The result was Southampton's heaviest home defeat in the FA Cup since February 1910, as well as their joint-heaviest defeat at St Mary's Stadium. ==EFL Cup==

scored his first goal for the club in their 2–0 win over Arsenal on 30 November 2016. ;Crystal Palace (21 September 2016) As a club competing in both the Premier League and the UEFA Europa League, Southampton entered the 2016–17 EFL Cup in the third round. On 21 September 2016 the club hosted Crystal Palace, beating the fellow Premier League side 2–0 to advance to the fourth round. Charlie Austin scored his fourth goal in three games in all competitions from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute to open the scoring, following a foul by Martin Kelly on Shane Long. The Saints beat the visitors on 26 October by a solitary goal to advance to the fifth round of the tournament. The only goal of the game was scored by Moroccan winger Sofiane Boufal's long-range strike into the top corner, on his first start for the home side since his move in the summer. Jordy Clasie opened the scoring within the first 15 minutes of the game with his first goal for the club, striking from the edge of the penalty area after Sofiane Boufal's initial effort was blocked. Liverpool enjoyed the majority of possession early in the match, but Nathan Redmond opened the scoring for the hosts within 20 minutes with his first goal in the competition, after being set up by Jay Rodriguez. Liverpool dominated possession throughout the majority of the game, but the Saints enjoyed more clear-cut chances to score in the first half, with Dušan Tadić and Steven Davis coming closest to breaking the deadlock. The hosts increased the pressure after the break, but Daniel Sturridge missed multiple chances on goal to leave the Saints with the advantage. Emre Can came closest for Liverpool in the 53rd minute, when goalkeeper Fraser Forster failed to hold his shot before saving it off the line to keep his clean sheet. Shane Long finally scored the only goal of the game in stoppage time, securing Southampton's first cup final since 2003 and their first EFL Cup final since 1979. The result made Southampton the first team to advance to the final of the tournament without conceding a single goal. ;Manchester United (26 February 2017) In the 2017 EFL Cup Final on 26 February 2017, Southampton lost 3–2 to Manchester United to finish as runners-up. Manolo Gabbiadini scored early on in the game, but the goal was controversially disallowed for offside. Zlatan Ibrahimović opened the scoring in the 19th minute, with a free-kick awarded following a foul by Oriol Romeu on Ander Herrera. Despite the Saints enjoying a spell of pressure on the United goal, Jesse Lingard doubled the lead in the 38th minute. Gabbiadini brought Southampton back into the game on the stroke of half-time, converting James Ward-Prowse's cross. After the break, Gabbiadini equalised for the Saints with his fifth goal in his first three games, as the Saints continued to dominate possession and chances on goal. The Saints continued having chances to take the lead throughout the second half, as Dušan Tadić and Ward-Prowse saw efforts saved by United goalkeeper David de Gea, and Oriol Romeu hit the post with a header from a corner, but it was Ibrahimović who scored his second and United's third to win the cup for the Red Devils. ==UEFA Europa League==

scored two goals in Southampton's six UEFA Europa League group stage matches. ;Sparta Prague (15 September 2016) Southampton entered the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League at the group stage, when they were drawn in Group K with Internazionale, Sparta Prague and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. In the opening match against Sparta Prague on 15 September 2016, the Saints picked up their first win of the season when they beat the Czech side 3–0. Charlie Austin opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty, before doubling his side's lead 20 minutes later with a header. The game did not feature many goalscoring opportunities for either side in the first half, which Hapoel largely dominated, although James Ward-Prowse had a number of chances on goal after the break. The visitors almost scored on a number of occasions in the first half, notably when Ward-Prowse's shot went over the crossbar and Cuco Martina's went wide of the post. After Inter captain Mauro Icardi opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, the Saints were awarded a controversial penalty for a handball by Ivan Perišić just before half time, while Antonio Candreva was booked for an off-the-ball incident involving Sam McQueen. Despite dominating possession for most of the match, the Saints enjoyed few clear chances and went behind early on when defender Costa Nhamoinesu scored a volley from close range following a free kick, which was poorly defended by the Premier League club. Despite the home side dominating much of the possession and having many more chances on goal, it was the visitors who took the advantage in the 78th minute when Maor Buzaglo scored the Israeli side's only shot on target after poor defending from the Saints, who were left needing two goals in just over ten minutes in order to advance to the knockout stages. Defender Virgil van Dijk pulled one back in stoppage time, and Maya Yoshida came close to winning the game with a last-minute header, but the game ended level and Hapoel finished the group in second place. Group table Matches ==Squad statistics==

Most appearances Top goalscorers ==Transfers==

was signed for a fee of around £12.8 million in July 2016. was sold to Liverpool for a club record fee on 1 July 2016. left the Saints in January 2017. ;Players transferred in ;Players loaned in ;Players transferred out ;Players loaned out ;Players released ==References==