Southampton 1-0 West Bromwich Albion

Sofiane Boufal broke from deep in his own half before applying a low finish from 18 yards

Substitute Sofiane Boufal scored a sublime individual goal as Southampton snatched a late winner against a West Brom side who remain without a win since August.

The Morocco international picked the ball up deep in his own half and evaded several challenges before curling into the bottom corner with five minutes remaining.

His manager Mauricio Pellegrino called it one of the "most beautiful goals of this season" on a day when his side's recent tendency to miss chances on home soil continued, while West Brom's lack of ambition proved costly.

Saints' Ryan Bertrand struck the woodwork with a fine early free-kick, before Shane Long missed from three yards as his wait for a goal extended to 26 games.

West Brom - forced to reshuffle at the back when Jonny Evans went off injured - defended stoutly and could have led after the break when Jay Rodriguez beat the offside trap but fired well wide.

Tony Pulis' side looked content with a point for long spells and they have now won only twice in 18 league matches - a figure they will do well to improve upon with fixtures against Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham to come in their next four games.

• Relive Boufal's stunning winner

Boufal applies finishing touch

Southampton's Oriel Romeu missed from close range in the first half as they struggled to finish opportunities until Boufal struck

When Boufal was introduced on 81 minutes his side looked like they would fail to win for the 10th time in 11 home games.

Goals have been hard to come by - Mauricio Pellegrino's side have failed to score in eight of those 11 matches - and for long spells the quality of their final pass and shooting failed to match their obvious effort.

Long was a prime example as he made selfless runs but when his moment arrived at the end of a rapid counter-attack he could only prod wide.

Manolo Gabbiadini, who scored twice against Newcastle last week, produced only tame efforts, while Maya Yoshida and Dusan Tadic had efforts saved, and Charlie Austin found the woodwork from a narrow angle in injury time.

In all, the home side hit the target only six times from 20 attempts but Boufal's goal deservedly won the game as he slalomed past challenges before coolly picking his spot to move Southampton up to 10th in the table.

The 24-year-old - a £16m signing in August 2016 - has started only one league game this season, but suggested he can fulfil a more important role while Pellegrino's other options find a goalscoring touch.

Afterwards, Match of the Day pundit Phil Neville said: "What I liked about the run was the balance and the finish was sublime. One of the goals of the season we have seen so far. I will criticise him though for running up to the manager to prove a point. Go up and give him a hug, calm down."

Did Pulis get it wrong?

West Brom (right) touched the ball just once in the Southampton area before half-time

Pulis may face some criticism for his approach against a side who arguably carry limited threat compared to others in the league.

Although West Brom are 13th in the table, wins in their first two games this season remain their only league victories since March.

The Baggies are used to conceding possession and this was the 93rd time in 103 matches under Pulis they have seen less of the ball than their opponents.

With Salomon Rondon leading the line on his own, they struggled to create openings and Pulis admitted they were "flat" in a first-half where they had just one touch in the home penalty area.

Rodriguez had time to take a touch when he shot first time to drill their best opening wide after half-time, while a Nacer Chadli effort from range was their only other shot on target.

Ahmed Hegazi was again impressive at the heart of their defence and there could be greater onus on him in a testing run of fixtures if the news is not good when both Evans and Craig Dawson have scans on injuries on Sunday.

Man of the match - Sofiane Boufal

Boufal only came on 81 minutes in but to win a game with a goal of such class means he was ultimately the difference maker. Ahmed Hegazi had impressed at the back for West Brom, while Mario Lemina completed 94% of his passes in a solid midfield display for the home side. Goals such as Boufal's though are rare.

Baggies' possession worry - the stats

• Saints have scored just six goals in their last 11 Premier League home games.

• Of Premier League fixtures played at least 15 times, games between these two sides have averaged just 1.47 goals per game (22 goals in 15 games), fewer than any other clash.

• The Baggies have posted a league-low 37% possession figure in the Premier League this season.

• Sofiane Boufal's goal was his first in his last 23 Premier League appearances, since netting against Middlesbrough in December 2016.

'He's gone past five players' - manager reaction

Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino: "It was a physical game, the weather conditions wasn't the best, but we put them under pressure. We created chances and scored at the end.

"Sofiane has got ability to do it, we had to change at the end because they put five defenders. We made the right decision and got the victory for more confidence for the next game."

West Brom boss Tony Pulis on Boufal's goal: "The viewers will see it and think it's a wonderful goal. He's going past five players, one or two you'd hope would do better. It's disappointing.

"Second half we changed it and had a lot more chances. We really had the best opportunity of the game - if we score there it's a different game."

Up next?

West Brom host Premier League leaders Manchester City on Saturday at 15:00 BST, while Southampton travel to south-coast rivals Brighton next Sunday (13:30).