Southampton sailed to a Charlie Austin-inspired 3-0 victory over a struggling West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. 

Though West Ham showed flashes of the their full potensial over the course of the game, the Hammers struggled to cope with the incisive passing of the Saints, who ran riot in the second-half and could have won by a far higher margin.

Southampton’s tormentor in chief was Charlie Austin.  Lurking in dangerous areas and looking to work his centre backs whenver possible, Austin proved a constant menace for West Ham’s defenders.

According to SoccerClub’s Opta-powered match stats, the striker made 25 touches in his 74 minutes on the pitch but he made those touches count as he notched a goal and an assist. The forward netted with his ownly strike of the match while he made nine of 15 attempted passes.

Austin opened the scoring on the brink of half-time as he expertly steered a cross into the far corner off a pullback. The player’s assist, meanwhile, came has he brilliantly flicked a pass between two defenders to set Dusan Tadic up for his side’s second.