For all the frothy-mouthed, arm-waving madness that went with his message, Pep Guardiola might just have had a point about the attacking qualities of Nathan Redmond. They certainly changed this game.
Was it the Pep talk that did it? That would probably be overstating the importance of that peculiar little chat Redmond had with Manchester City’s manager four days earlier.
But there is no doubting the impact Redmond had on this match, given how toothless Southampton had looked in the first 45 minutes in his absence, during which Ryan Fraser had put Bournemouth in front. Once he was brought on for the second half, it all changed, most pointedly with his 61st minute assist for Charlie Austin’s equaliser.
Charlie Austin earned Southampton a point in Sunday’s south coast derby by scoring a second-half equaliser for his side
Cherries midfielder Ryan Fraser put the hosts ahead on 42 minutes, scoring his second goal this season in all competitions
But former QPR forward Austin netted his third goal in as many games to draw Southampton level just after the hour mark
The 28-year-old frontman taunted Bournemouth fans by gesturing that they should calm down as he celebrated his goal
MATCH FACTS AND PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
Bournemouth (4-4-1-1): Begovic 6.5; A Smith 7, Francis 7, Ake 6.5, Daniels 6.5; Stanislas 6 (Ibe 69, 6), L Cook 5, Surman 6, Fraser 7; King 6.5; Defoe 5 (Wilson 69, 6)
Subs not used: Boruc, S Cook, Gosling, Pugh, Afobe
Manager: Eddie Howe 6.5
Booked: Smith, Defoe
Scorer: Fraser 42
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster 7.5; Pied 6.5, Van Dijk 6.5, Hoedt 5, Bertrand 7; Romeu 7, Davis 6.5 Gabbiadini 85); Ward-Prowse 5.5 (Redmond 46, 7), Tadic 6.5 (Lemina 74, 6), Boufal 6.5; Austin 7
Subs not used: McCarthy, Yoshida, Redmond, Hojbjerg, Targett
Booked: Lemina
Scorer: Austin 61
Manager: Mauricio Pellegrino 6.5
Ref: Jonathan Moss 5
MOTM: Fraser Forster
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Bournemouth took the lead when Joshua King — after tackling Wesley Hoedt — passed to midfielder Andrew Surman, who found goalscorer Ryan Fraser in the first half
The Saints hit back when Oriol Romeu fed Nathan Redmond, who set up Charlie Austin
For more stats and maps visit Sportsmail’s brilliant Match Zone.
And there was more. He ran at his man, gave quick passes, found spaces, flashed a shot wide from 25 or so yards. He was, in essence, a threat. Most teams can usually take that for granted of their attackers, but not Southampton, who had scored only 22 goals in 25 league matches prior to this one.
Guardiola probably overstepped his mark in telling another manager’s player how he should be playing, but maybe, just maybe, the freeing of Redmond’s attacking instincts would help Mauricio Pellegrino tackle the issue. He might just be the kind of player who can get their season going, either him or Austin, who has been frustrated with his lack of minutes but managed a third goal in two starts after being dropped for the midweek loss to City.
In truth he might have had more than just one here, but a draw was fair, given how Bournemouth dominated a first half that really reinforced the issues Southampton have with creating opening. Possession wasn’t a problem – they actually edged it and against Bournemouth that is pretty impressive.
But decisive actions in the final 30 or so yards has been tricky and that was the case again. Charlie Austin had a drive charged down by Nathan Ake inside two minutes, Virgil van Dijk was a little wasteful with a free header that he put wide and Austin drew a reasonably comfortable save from Asmir Begovic. Nothing clear cut, nothing to get excited about, nothing particularly new,
The first half was played in bright sunshine, causing fans to shield their eyes as they watched Charlie Daniels take a throw-in
Midfielder Oriol Romeu (right) made his 14th Premier League start of the season and battled for the ball with Adam Smith
Smith was booked for an alleged dive, but he was unlucky not to get a penalty after a sliding challenge from Sofiane Boufal
Right back Smith looked upset as he argued with referee Jon Moss, who handed him his fifth yellow card of the season
Moss gave Smith some steely eye-contact as he dished out the game’s second yellow, having earlier booked Jermain Defoe
Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk lost his marker from a corner but headed wide, wasting a good chance in the 12th minute
Bournemouth’s players found Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster (left) hard to get past during the opening 30 minutes
England international Forster made a fine reaction save to deny striker Defoe his second Premier League goal of the season
Forster made another stop moments later, this time thwarting Nathan Ake by parrying the Cherries defender’s diving header
But Forster was unable to keep out Fraser’s well-placed finish which saw the ball slide into the net shortly before half time
Bournemouth, by contrast, found it all a bit easier. Aside from Fraser’s goal, they worked openings for Jermain Defoe and Ake, the first with a flicked finish from six yards and the latter an unmarked diving header. Both excellent chances and both drew excellent saves from Fraser Forster.
There was also a penalty appeal when Sofiane Boufal went to ground and clearly tripped Adam Smith. How Jonathan Moss ruled it a dive and a yellow card is a great mystery.
An irritation, but no real lasting damage with Bournemouth going ahead three minutes before the break. Wesley Hoedt was culpable from the Southampton perspective, having tried and failed to dribble past Joshua King from centre-half. He had pulled it off twice in the match already so there was a sense he was on borrowed time and that came to pass when King won the challenge and passed inside to Andrew Surman. He rolled it out left to Fraser, who shot back across goal for 1-0.
Pellegrino responded by subbing off James Ward-Prowse for Redmond and suddenly Southampton had an entirely new dimension – direct running, first-time passes and the assist for Austin. It started with Oriol Romeu robbing Lewis Cook 25 yards from goal, before playing out to Redmond. His low cross was perfect and Austin did what Austin does. A sustained run in the team must surely on the cards for the striker.
King had a drive saved by Forster in retaliation before Redmond put one wide from 25 yards and Austin blew a great chance 10 minutes from time, heading over a Ryan Bertrand cross.
Fraser, who has now scored four goals in his Premier League career, was congratulated by Defoe and Andrew Surman (right)
Joshua King (left) also joined in the celebration, sharing a handshake with former Aberdeen and Ipswich midfielder Fraser
Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt covered his face with his shirt after being dispossessed in the build-up to the goal
Nathan Redmond (right) entered the action as a substitute as he replaced James Ward-Prowse at the start of the second half
It was nearly 2-0 when King’s drilled shot was almost diverted in by Junior Stanislas, who just missed the ball on the stretch
But Austin made it 1-1 after being set up by super-sub Redmond, who found the in-form striker with a precise cut-back
King forced a save out of Asmir Begovic before the rebound hit Callum Wilson (above), who deflected the ball wide
Austin should have won the game, but he headed over from a fine Ryan Bertrand cross in the game’s closing moments
Managers Eddie Howe (front) and Mauricio Pellegrino tried their best to motivate and organise their teams in Sunday’s game
Former Alaves manager Pellegrino was seen pointing as he took charge of his 16th game since being appointed as Saints boss
Bournemouth manager Howe shook hands with Redmond — whose introduction was key in the match — after the final whistle
Redmond was seen in conversation with Cherries striker Jermain Defoe, who was hugged by ex-England team-mate Forster