Southampton end French stay with 3-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne

Southampton continued their pre-season preparations with a 3-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne at the Stade Municipal de Chambéry.

Manolo Gabbiadini and James Ward-Prowse both found the target -- thanks in part to assists from Matt Targett -- in the second half, as the Premier League club concluded their stay in France.

Maya Yoshida would add a third late on to make it a comfortable margin against their French counterpart.

Charlie Austin, who returned to the side in May after a long injury layoff, got another 60 minutes under his belt having scored twice in Southampton’s friendly against Brentford on 22nd July.

Ligue 1’s Saint-Etienne made Southampton work for the result with Stephane Ruffier twice thwarting dangerous efforts either side of the break, including a point-blank header from Sofiane Boufal.

Ward-Prowse, back from holiday following the England Under-23s run in the European Championships, played the final half hour before turning in Targett’s low cross to double the lead.

The legend of Stuart Taylor, meanwhile, continued to grow as the 36-year-old shot stopper preserved the clean sheet with a superb diving save in the 89th minute.

Southampton finish their preparations for the 2017/18 season with home friendlies against FC Augsburg and Sevilla on the 2nd and 5th, respectively.