Southampton sweep aside Blackburn to keep strong finish on track

Southampton FC produced a composed home performance to defeat Blackburn Rovers FC 3–0 in Championship matchday 45 action on 14 April 2026.

The hosts established control midway through the first half. In the 24th minute, Cyle Larin opened the scoring, finishing after being set up by Cameron Archer to give Southampton a 1–0 lead. Ryan Manning doubled the advantage just before the interval, striking in the 43rd minute to make it 2–0.

Championship FINISHED

2026-04-14 19:00

Southampton FC

3 - 0

Blackburn Rovers FC

Matchday 45 REGULAR_SEASON

Blackburn’s evening began in scrappy fashion, with early yellow cards shown to Sean McLoughlin in the 5th minute and Taylor Gardner-Hickman two minutes later. The visitors sought a response after the break, introducing Yuki Ohashi and Ryoya Morishita at half-time, while Southampton brought on Nathan Wood-Gordon for James Bree.

Southampton managed the second half effectively, using a triple change in the 71st minute as Flynn Downes, Léo Scienza and Welington replaced Cameron Bragg, Kuryu Matsuki and goalscorer Manning. Blackburn turned to Ryan Hedges and Oladapo Afolayan shortly after, before Eiran Cashin entered the fray in the 78th minute, but the visitors were unable to find a route back into the match.

The home side added further gloss to the scoreline late on. In the 86th minute, Archer found the net to make it 3–0, combining with substitute Léo Scienza, who claimed the assist. Archer was then withdrawn a minute later for Jay Robinson as Southampton saw out a convincing win.

Beyond the recorded goals, bookings and substitutions, detailed statistical data and additional match events were not provided. For more on this fixture and the Championship table, visit the full match page on Ballaxy or the Championship hub.

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Championship Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Coventry City FC	46	28	11	7	97	45	52	95	W W W D D
2	Ipswich Town FC	46	23	15	8	80	47	33	84	W D D W D
3	Millwall FC	46	24	11	11	64	49	15	83	W D W W D
4	Southampton FC	46	22	14	10	82	56	26	80	W D D W W
5	Middlesbrough FC	46	22	14	10	72	47	25	80	D W W D L
6	Hull City AFC	46	21	10	15	70	66	4	73	W L D D L
7	Wrexham AFC	46	19	14	13	69	65	4	71	D L W W L
8	Derby County FC	46	20	9	17	67	59	8	69	L W L W L
9	Norwich City FC	46	19	8	19	63	56	7	65	L D W W L
10	Birmingham City FC	46	17	13	16	57	56	1	64	D W W D W
11	Swansea City AFC	46	18	10	18	57	59	-2	64	W D W L W
12	Bristol City FC	46	17	11	18	59	59	0	62	W L D L D
13	Sheffield United FC	46	18	6	22	66	66	0	60	W L L W W
14	Preston North End FC	46	15	15	16	55	62	-7	60	L W L L W
15	Queens Park Rangers FC	46	16	10	20	61	73	-12	58	L L L L D
16	Watford FC	46	14	15	17	53	65	-12	57	L L L L L
17	Stoke City FC	46	15	10	21	51	56	-5	55	L L L L D
18	Portsmouth FC	46	14	13	19	49	64	-15	55	D W L W W
19	Charlton Athletic FC	46	13	14	19	44	58	-14	53	L W L D L
20	Blackburn Rovers FC	46	13	13	20	42	56	-14	52	L W D L D
21	West Bromwich Albion FC	46	13	14	19	48	58	-10	51	L D W W D
22	Oxford United FC	46	11	14	21	45	59	-14	47	L W L L W
23	Leicester City FC	46	12	16	18	58	68	-10	46	W D D L L
24	Sheffield Wednesday FC	46	2	12	32	29	89	-60	0	W L L D D