Joe Aribo scored his first English Premier League goal to help Southampton hold Leeds United to a 2-2 draw at St Marys in his first competitive home match.
The Nigeria international made his second appearance for the Saints after coming on for Mohamed Elyounoussi in the 61st minute. He rewarded manager Ralph Hasenhüttl’s confidence in him when he gave his side a ray of hope in the 72nd minute reducing the deficit after Leeds United had taken a two-goal lead through Rodrigo.
Aribo showed composure inside the box after controlling the pass from Stuart Armstrong faking the onrushing goalkeeper before cooly slotting the ball into the back of the net. A goal which was greeted with wild celebration from the fans.
Kyle Walker-Peters scored the equaliser in the 81st minute after receiving a through pass from Sekou Mara smashing the ball past onrushing Illan Meslier.
Aribo joined Southampton from Glasgow Rangers in the summer and has been a popular figure amongst the fans at St Marys. The 26-year-old scored nine goals while providing 10 assists for Rangers in 57 games across all competitions last season, a performance that saw the Saints pay €7.10m to bring him down to England.
Walker-Peters who scored the equaliser has hailed the effort of the Nigerian International.
“Sékou came on and got an assist and Joe [Aribo] came on and scored,” Walker-Peters told the club website after the match.
“The new guys have fitted in really well; I think as a group we’ve made it easy for them to settle in and that showed today.”