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ROGER FEDERER SET TO RETURN TO TENNIS AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER FOLLOWING INJURY

Roger Federer looks to have allayed retirement fears as he plots a return to the ATP Tour in the autumn, starting at the Laver Cup in London followed by the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

The 20-time grand-slam champion has been sidelined since losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July last year, announcing the following month he had undergone more knee surgery.

Federer admitted last November he would be “extremely surprised” if he returned to SW19 this year in an attempt to win a record ninth men’s singles crown and it now appears almost certain he will miss out.

He turns 41 in August but the following month he plans to be at the fifth edition of the Laver Cup, a competition starting on September 23 that pits Europe against the rest of the world.

From there is his home tournament of the Swiss Indoors, according to organisers, which starts on October 24. Federer has won the tournament 10 times, collecting his 103rd and most recent title in 2019, the last time the event was held.

A post on the tournament’s Instagram said: “After a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Swiss Indoors Basel will return to the ATP Tour in the fall of 2022.

“Ten-time singles champion and hometown hero Roger Federer has announced his comeback to the stadium at St. Jakobshalle. The Swiss all-time great has confirmed his initial agenda will include the Laver Cup in London followed by the Swiss Indoors in Basel.”

Federer said in an Instagram story: “Looking forward to playing back home.”

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JACOB RAMSEY COMMITS TO ASTON VILLA UNTIL 2027

Jacob Ramsey has signed a new Aston Villa contract, tying him to the Premier League club until 2027.

The England Under-21s midfielder has been a standout star for Steven Gerrard’s side this season and has been rewarded with a fresh deal.

Ramsey has hit six Premier League goals so far this campaign after opening his Villa account in the defeat to Arsenal in October.

“Aston Villa is delighted to announce Jacob Ramsey has signed a new contract with the club,” a statement on avfc.co.uk read.

“The 20-year-old has put pen to paper on a deal until 2027.

“A product of the Aston Villa Academy, the midfielder has been with the club since the age of six and progressed through the ranks, making his senior debut against West Bromwich Albion in 2019.

“After a short loan spell with Doncaster Rovers, Ramsey made his Premier League bow last term at Fulham before making his full debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers.”

The 20-year-old has been capped at England age groups from the under-18s upwards and has been tipped for a senior cap.

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MANCHESTER CITY CLAIM SLENDER ADVANTAGE IN SEVEN-GOAL THRILLER WITH REAL MADRID

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City reacts during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg One match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium on April 26, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Manchester City claimed a slender advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid after a dramatic 4-3 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

The Premier League leaders raced into a 2-0 lead in a pulsating first-leg encounter with goals from the irrepressible Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus in the first 11 minutes.

Real responded through the prolific Karim Benzema before Phil Foden and Vinicius Junior traded goals early in the second half.

Bernardo Silva gave City a two-goal advantage but Benzema scored a cheeky penalty – his 41st goal of the season in as many appearances – to cut the deficit once again.

Both sides spurned numerous other chances in a compelling and breathless clash that set the stage for a fascinating second leg next week.

City may regret not making the most of a number of early opportunities as they stormed out of the blocks. They could almost have put the tie out of sight in the opening half-hour but Real, after fine comebacks against Paris St Germain and Chelsea in the previous two rounds, fought back again.

Real were sluggish and sloppy and continually left spaces for the hosts to exploit. Some of Foden’s touches were exquisite and De Bruyne’s throughballs were a constant danger.

It was De Bruyne who got City off to the dream start, heading their opening goal after just two minutes from a Riyad Mahrez cross.

The atmosphere crackled and City took further inspiration, doubling their lead nine minutes later.

Foden showed great control before laying off to De Bruyne, who drilled a low ball into the box for Jesus. The Brazilian had his back to goal but, buoyed by the four-goal haul against Watford that earned him a place in the side, was too quick for David Alaba. He turned sharply, wrongfooting the defender and blasted a low shot past Thibaut Courtois.

City went close again as Oleksandr Zinchenko fired wide and Mahrez infuriated manager Pep Guardiola by hitting the side-netting rather than squaring for Foden, who later shot wide himself.

Yet as well as City were playing, they did look vulnerable at the back. Guardiola’s gamble in rushing back John Stones from injury to play at right-back in the absence of Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker also backfired.

The England international struggled and was caught out as Benzema crossed and Alaba glanced a header wide.

City failed to heed that warning and Real scored through the same route, this time Ferland Mendy crossing for Benzema to divert in. Stones was replaced by Fernandinho moments later.

City upped the tempo after the break and hit the post through Mahrez. Foden’s follow-up attempt was blocked by Dani Carvajal but he made no mistake in the 53rd minute as he got on the end of a fine cross from makeshift right-back Fernandinho to head City’s third.

Yet again from a position of control, City allowed Real back into the game. Vinicius turned Fernandinho out wide and was too quick for the rest of the defence, racing into the box to slot into the bottom corner.

It could even have been 3-3 soon after as Eder Militao found space but aimed his header at Ederson.

Such was the tension that Guardiola was booked for coming out of his technical area.

City were determined to add to their tally and their fourth came after referee Istvan Kovacs played a good advantage when Toni Kroos felled Zinchenko on the edge of the area. Real stopped expecting the whistle to be blown but Silva played on and smacked a shot into the top corner. They pushed on even after that, with Mahrez inches away from another.

Real were not done and pulled another one back eight minutes from time with a Panenka penalty from the cool Benzema after Aymeric Laporte handled.

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LEEDS EARN A POINT FROM GOALLESS DRAW AT CRYSTAL PALACE

Leeds moved a point further away from the relegation zone after a lacklustre goalless draw at Crystal Palace.

In a game of few chances neither side were able to find the breakthrough.

The best of the chances fell to Jean-Philippe Mateta, but he was unable to find the net or really test Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Leeds remain in 16th position, now five points clear of 18th-placed Everton, and Palace were able to bring an end to their three-match losing streak in all competitions, but remain in 14th.

Patrick Vieira and Leeds boss Jesse Marsch had faced each other nine times while in charge of New York City and New York Red Bulls respectively and the games were often fiery, and the one at Selhurst Park also had its moments of tension just before the break.

After the early exchanges in the midfield, Palace had the first opportunity of the match with a long, direct ball over the top to Mateta, who chipped the ball over Meslier, but Diego Llorente was able to get back and clear.

Palace had another chance in the 11th minute when Nathaniel Clyne crossed the ball towards Wilfried Zaha, who was well-positioned, but his header lacked sufficient power and Meslier was able to gather.

Leeds had to scramble the ball away in the 15th minute when Conor Gallagher cleverly picked out Jordan Ayew who passed towards the back post, but Mateta was not able to get there and slot home.

Leeds had to wait until the 27th minute for their first corner of the game, which fell to Liam Cooper but his effort was straight at Vicente Guaita.

Just before half-time, there were tensions from both sides and the players squared up on a couple of occasions but it was calmed down.

Leeds had an opportunity at the start of the second half, after a lacklustre opening 45, when Stuart Dallas picked out Raphinha on the wing, and he cut in but took too long trying to take his shot which deflected wide.

With both sides unable to showcase their quality in the final third, Dallas resorted to trying his luck from distance, but it was wide of Guaita’s goal.

Shortly afterwards Zaha had another chance to play in Mateta through the centre but his pass lacked pace and Leeds were able to clear. In the 66th minute, Zaha did pick out Mateta but his attempt blazed over the bar.

Palace looked to be edging closer to breaking the deadlock when Meslier had to make an important save to deny Zaha’s curled effort.

Gallagher had a chance with less than five minutes remaining, but his effort from the centre of the box was also straight at the goalkeeper.

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DILLIAN WHYTE ACCUSES TYSON FURY OF DIRTY TACTICS IN WEMBLEY WIN

Dillian Whyte has accused Tyson Fury of engaging “dirty” tactics and says he should have had extra recovery time after being floored during their world heavyweight fight.

Fury retained his WBC heavyweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of British rival Whyte at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, ending Saturday’s bout with a brutal upper cut.

Whyte was sent crashing to the deck, but the Londoner believes the referee should have penalised Fury for shoving him before his head thumped against the canvas.

“I was buzzed but obviously I was trying to regather my senses and he proper pushed me and I fell over and hit my head on the canvas, which is illegal,” Whyte told Sky Sports.

“This isn’t wrestling, this is boxing. I should have been allowed extra time to recover and then carried on fighting.

“I got caught, no doubt about it. I got caught by a good shot.

“I was hurt, I was trying to get my senses together and he full on, two-handed pushed me. It wasn’t like a one-armed thing.

“I should have had time to recover, time to go back to my corner, but Tyson Fury gets away with a lot of things.”

Whyte claimed Fury headbutted him after he sustained a nasty gash over his right eye, the first time he has sustained a cut in 31 professional fights.

He said: “He kept on leaning down to the side and putting the head in and stuff like that.

“He leans down and he put the head in, he clashed with me and I got the cut and obviously the ref started telling me off.

“I was like, ‘what the hell is going on here? I got headbutted?’

“The fight spiralled a bit, until he started punching me in the back of the head. I started doing it to him and then his corner started throwing water and stuff like that, which was a bit crazy.

“I kept on getting all the blame. He was the one that was holding, he was the one that was headbutting and being dirty in the fight.”

While unbeaten Fury has vowed to bring his professional career to an end, 34-year-old Whyte is determined to force his way back into world title contention.

He said: “I’m still young enough, I’ve still got a lot left in me. I’ve fought the best in the world and I wasn’t outclassed or outboxed.

“It’s not a long, hard road back, because I’ve showed the level I am. I’m still there, I’m still good enough. One fight and I’m back.”

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BURNLEY CLINCH ANOTHER HOME WIN TO PILE PRESSURE ON EVERTON IN RELEGATION ZONE

Matej Vydra’s strike took battling Burnley out of the Premier League relegation zone as caretaker boss Mike Jackson celebrated a crucial victory against European hopefuls Wolves.

Having drawn at West Ham and then beaten Southampton on Thursday, Sean Dyche’s temporary successor oversaw another huge result in the Clarets’ bid to beat the drop.

Burnley may not have been at their best for chunks of Sunday’s encounter but Vydra’s second-half strike proved enough to secure a key 1-0 win against Wolves at a rocking Turf Moor.

The victory takes the Lancashire outfit out of the bottom three, albeit potentially only for a few hours should Everton secure a shock win at title-chasing rivals Liverpool.

It was another impressive result for under-23s boss Jackson, whose side struggled to get going in a first half edged by Bruno Lage’s visitors.

But Burnley kept compact defensively and took their chance in the 62nd minute when lively Dwight McNeil played through Wout Weghorst, whose cross was turned in by Vydra.

The Clarets dug deep to secure a third straight home league win that heaps the pressure on embattled Everton.

Wolves made four changes for their first match in 16 days and started brightly in Lancashire, where Raul Jimenez should have done better with an early shot after Connor Roberts was dispossessed.

McNeil blazed over after a mazy run and Vydra – in for the injured Maxwel Cornet – saw a 20-yard strike comfortably saved when Burnley looked for the opener.

But Lage’s men were finding space and unsettling the nervous hosts, who would have been punished in the 20th minute had Nick Pope not pushed behind a curling right-footed effort by impressive wing-back Jonny.

Wolves continued to create openings but lacked a cutting edge, with Fabio Silva proving a nuisance but moments for them to break the deadlock were wasted.

As for the hosts, Jay Rodriguez teed himself up and volleyed wide before McNeil again cut inside to hit a driven effort from the edge of the box that Jose Sa made a meal of tipping over.

The Turf Moor crowd were celebrating three minutes into the second half as the ball rippled the back of the net.

Vydra was put behind by a quickly-taken free-kick and Sa’s save hit Conor Coady and ricocheted off the Wolves captain into his own goal, only for the offside flag to rightly rule it out.

That chance was swiftly followed by a great save by Pope, who reacted brilliantly to stop Nelson Semedo rifling home from an acute angle.

Play became edgy as the sides looked to unlock one another without throwing everything at it, with Burnley managing to do just that in the 62nd minute.

McNeil’s smart reverse pass put Weghorst behind the napping Wolves backline and the January acquisition crossed for Vydra to slot past Sa and send Turf Moor wild.

Burnley looked invigorated by the goal and were up for the fight, with Hwang Hee-Chan halted by a fine tackle by Roberts and Nathan Collins receiving a standing ovation having thwarted Jimenez.

Substitute Aaron Lennon was proving a handful and Weghorst attempted to add his name to the scoresheet as Wolves toiled.

Substitute Ashley Barnes saw a goal ruled out after kicking the ball out of Sa’s grasp and Pope denied a stoppage-time volley by Hwang as the hosts ran down the clock.

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JAMIE VARDY RETURNS BUT LEICESTER FORCED TO DRAW BY ASTON VILLA

Jamie Vardy’s return failed to inspire Leicester to victory as they were held to a drab goalless draw by Aston Villa.

The striker made just his second appearance since December after hamstring and knee injuries in a 0-0 stalemate at the King Power Stadium.

Yet Vardy’s comeback as a second-half substitute still offers a huge boost ahead of the Foxes’ Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against Roma on Thursday.

That they emerged unscathed and earned a point from a bruising but forgettable encounter will be a comfort, with Jose Mourinho’s side arriving next week.

Battling Villa, 15th in the table, at least ended a run of four straight defeats and had the best chances, Leon Bailey firing over and Tyrone Mings getting a header all wrong, but they were no better than the Foxes in a tight game.

Steven Gerrard’s side squandered the game’s biggest opening early on when Wesley Fofana’s poor header let in Ollie Watkins and he centred for Bailey to blaze over.

Watkins also shot straight at Kasper Schmeichel from distance but, despite Villa’s two chances, Leicester – who sit 10th in the Premier League – were the aggressors.

They tried to pin Villa back at times but the visitors, on the back of their poor run, were more determined than in their recent losses.

Both sides were loose with possession, Patson Daka failing to capitalise after being gifted the ball by John McGinn, which contributed to a stilted half which never really got going.

James Maddison’s free-kick briefly had Emi Martinez concerned but despite edging the first half, Leicester never tested the goalkeeper.

Villa emerged for the second with renewed purpose and Mings’ miscued header from five yards saw them blow an early chance.

Watkins’ angled drive was then shovelled behind by Schmeichel but, after that, there was little to suggest anyone would break the deadlock.

It was a battle, Villa championed by McGinn and Leicester spurred on by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and little to separate the sides.

Vardy was finally summoned from the bench with 20 minutes to go after six weeks out with a knee injury.

His presence immediately lifted the hosts and Villa replaced the ineffective Philippe Coutinho with Emi Buendia but could not find any extra edge.

Maddison’s free-kick brought a good save from Martinez but a winner never came.

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GABRIEL JESUS SCORES FOUR AS MANCHESTER CITY RUN RIOT AGAINST WATFORD

Gabriel Jesus struck four times as Manchester City crushed Watford 5-1 to chalk off another win in their battle with Liverpool for the Premier League title.

The Brazilian also provided the assist for City’s other goal, a stunning strike by Rodri, as the champions increased their lead at the top of the table to four points.

Hassane Kamara did get on the scoresheet for the visitors but Roy Hodgson’s relegation-threatened side were no match for City, who were relentless and efficient in attack.

Seven points off safety and having played more games than the sides immediately above them, the Hornets are running out of time.

Such was City’s dominance they could ease off in the closing stages knowing the onus was now on Liverpool to respond against Everton on Sunday. It also gave them chance to conserve some energy ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

Meanwhile Jesus could savour his fine riposte to speculation about his future in the light of strong reports linking City with Erling Haaland.

Pep Guardiola’s side have dished out plenty of punishment to Watford in recent years, not least in thrashing them 6-0 in the 2019 FA Cup final and then 8-0 and 4-0 the following season.

Watford had lost their previous 14 matches against City and not beaten them since 1989, and it soon became apparent that dismal record was only going to get worse.

City needed just four minutes to force their way ahead. Joao Cancelo sent a deep cross to the left and Oleksandr Zinchenko pulled back across the six-yard line for Jesus, one of six changes made to the side by Guardiola, to pounce.

The Hornets spurned a glorious chance to equalise soon after when Cancelo lost possession. Emmanuel Dennis burst clean through and should have tested Ederson but dithered too long and Zinchenko raced back to tackle.

Cancelo almost made instant amends for that error as he got into a shooting position from a Jesus lay-off but Ben Foster pushed away his powerful strike.

City’s second came in the 23rd minute as Kevin De Bruyne yet again showed his mastery by curling in a brilliant cross from the right. It was so accurate that Jesus’ task of nodding in was relatively simple.

Despite their dominance, City were still prone to the occasional defensive lapse and another slip allowed Watford to pull one back against the run of play.

Dennis flicked a fine pass into the path of Kamara and the Ivorian lashed a low left-footed shot through the arms of a diving Ederson.

Yet it was only a brief stemming of the tide as Rodri soon made it 3-1 with a great goal.

There were groans as the influential De Bruyne landed awkwardly attempting a through-ball but play continued with the Belgian on the ground.

Jesus won the ball on the right and clipped back inside for Rodri, who chested down and then thumped a half-volley into the top corner. With De Bruyne back on his feet before the game resumed, City looked in fine shape.

Raheem Sterling should have added another when he blazed over moments later but Jesus made no mistake to complete his treble from the penalty spot after being felled by Foster in the opening moments of the second half.

Jesus then claimed his fourth after 53 minutes by sweeping a low shot past Foster after playing a one-two with De Bruyne.

Foster was in action again when he needed to scramble back to prevent the ball rebounding into the net off Christian Kabasele.

With the job impressively done by City, the final half-hour was played at a much slower tempo with thoughts on bigger tests to come.

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ANTONIO RUDIGER TO LEAVE CHELSEA IN THE SUMMER

Thomas Tuchel acknowledged replacing Antonio Rudiger will prove “incredibly difficult” for Chelsea after confirming the Germany defender will leave the club in the summer.

Rudiger will depart Stamford Bridge after rejecting the chance to become the highest-paid defender in the club’s history, with Real Madrid poised to wrap up his signing on a free transfer.

The 29-year-old almost left Stamford Bridge during Frank Lampard’s tenure but has excelled under Tuchel, transforming his Chelsea career to become an integral part of the Blues’ 2021 Champions League triumph.

Chelsea are eager for the club’s sale to be complete, with the Blues unable to recruit new players or hand existing stars new contracts due to UK government sanctions.

And boss Tuchel has conceded they will struggle to replace Rudiger, for both the defender’s excellence and the government constraints.

Asked if the Blues can recruit a suitable replacement this summer, Tuchel said following Sunday’s dramatic victory over West Ham: “Well, in the moment no; because of the sanctions, and even if hopefully the sanctions will be in the past, even then it will be incredibly difficult.

“Because Toni is what he is, a big personality, and a big leader.

“He takes fear away from other people, gives you confidence when he’s next to you and he played between 50, 60 matches over 90 minutes on an incredible level of consistency.

“It will be challenging, but like always, no matter how much I love Toni and how big a role he played, there will be life, there will be Chelsea without Toni Rudiger, and we will need to find solutions.

“The situation is that Toni will leave the club this summer, he wants to leave the club. He told me this privately.

“Toni is a key figure and will stay that way until the end of the season, but it is disappointing of course and we will miss him a lot.

“I had a big connection with Toni from day one, and he deserves my full support because he delivered incredible performances until today, so reliable.

“So it was a give and take.

“And I know that he’s very aware of it, and I’m just happy to have had the chance to coach him and to have him in the team.

“Because he was nothing else but brilliant until today.

“And the club did as well. We had offers, we had big offers for him and the club tried everything for him.

“But since some weeks we cannot fight any more, since we had the sanctions we cannot adjust, we cannot continue. So it is what it is.”

Chelsea have fallen under UK government restrictions since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by Downing Street on March 10th.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale officially on March 2nd, owing to Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.

The 55-year-old was then sanctioned with the government claiming to have proven his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, Martin Broughton and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca are the three bidders left vying to buy Chelsea.

New York merchant bank the Raine Group still hopes to select a preferred bidder in time for the sale to be completed in May.

Asked if he wants the takeover sorted as soon as possible to help planning for next season, Tuchel said: “Yeah it would be ideal, but even if we wish for it you cannot pull grass that it grows faster.

“We have to deal with the reality and at the moment sanctions are still in place.

“The situation is not cleared for next season, so we try to focus on what we can influence, and this is the next match.”

Chelsea edged out 10-man West Ham 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, thanks to Christian Pulisic’s last-minute strike.

Jorginho missed a penalty four minutes from time in an incident which saw West Ham defender Craig Dawson sent off for bringing down Romelu Lukaku, leaving USA forward Pulisic to spare the Italy midfielder’s blushes.

“The performance today was a bit due to uncertainty of the last results,” said Tuchel.

“Games like West Ham are very hard to have spectacular open games. But we grew into it, we never lost discipline and we never lost patience.”

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JAMES WARD-PROWSE HITS BRACE AS SOUTHAMPTON CLAIM BRIGHTON DRAW

James Ward-Prowse produced a pair of stunning strikes as Southampton battled back from two goals down to claim a thrilling 2-2 Premier League draw at mid-table rivals Brighton.

Saints skipper Ward-Prowse expertly curled home the 14th top-flight free-kick goal of his career just before the break before lashing his team level early in the second period.

Danny Welbeck’s early close-range finish and an own goal from Mohammed Salisu looked to have set Albion on course for an overdue first home win since Boxing Day – but they could not hold on.

Substitute Pascal Gross thought he had restored the Seagulls’ lead late on before his low strike from range was disallowed for him being marginally offside in the build up.

A memorable comeback for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s visitors was slightly overshadowed by Tino Livramento – who hit the woodwork at 1-0 – being carried off on a stretcher in the 37th minute after twisting awkwardly.

Both sides retain hopes of top-half finishes and, while this result does little to significantly boost either in that regard, Saints will undoubtedly be the happier.

They sit a point and two positions below their 11th-placed hosts following the crucial contribution of influential England midfielder Ward-Prowse.

Brighton had drawn three and lost four at the Amex Stadium since beating Brentford in late December, failing to score in their last five outings in front of their own fans.

Defender Adam Webster made his first start in more than two months and forwards Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay were recalled in a bid to snap that poor run, while Saints’ six changes included a rare outing for Shane Long.

Albion made a blistering start and swiftly ended a home goal drought dating back to the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 18, inside 76 seconds.

Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster failed to gather Marc Cucurella’s low cross from the left as Enock Mwepu challenged for the ball, leaving Welbeck with the simple task of stabbing into the empty net.

Southampton’s woeful start was a continuation of Thursday’s dismal 2-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Burnley.

But they were almost level with 13 minutes on the clock.

Livramento’s deflected strike from just outside the 18-yard box rebounded off the left post and then struck Seagulls goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, with Che Adams narrowly unable to turn home the loose ball.

The open, end-to-end action continued and Maupay had a header disallowed for offside in the 18th minute.

Saints then lost defender Livramento to a nasty-looking injury.

The England Under-21 international went down in clear discomfort as he attempted to challenge Mwepu and was treated on the pitch for around four minutes before being carried off to be replaced by Romain Perraud.

Forster superbly denied Welbeck his second from close range before the Seagulls doubled their advantage in the 44th minute thanks to a gift from Salisu.

Trossard attempted to thread a pass through to Welbeck and Saints’ Ghanaian defender clumsily diverted the ball into his own goal via the left post.

Daylight did not last long for the hosts as Ward-Prowse halved the deficit in the fourth of five minutes added on following Livramento’s premature departure.

The Saints skipper whipped a trademark set-piece through the Brighton wall and beyond the dive of Sanchez, with the ball going in off the left upright.

That timely goal changed the complexion of the contest going into the interval and the visitors were level nine minutes after the restart.

Ward-Prowse again did the damage, emphatically drilling the ball into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the D to claim his ninth league goal this term after being teed up by Oriol Romeu.

Southampton had the better of the second period but could not find a third.

They also survived a scare when Brighton midfielder Gross was denied a winner by an offside flag 11 minutes from time.