After a dismal display against a lively Wolverhampton Wanderers side, Southampton’s potential Carabao Cup run is gone within a blink of an eye.
Any hopes of repeating last year’s efforts in the EFL – or Carabao – Cup have been dashed, as Southampton suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wolves.
The free-spending Championship side have handed Mauricio Pellegrino his first competitive defeat, with two second-half strikes dumping the Saints out of the competition.
Despite initial belief that Jack Stephens would start in defensive midfield, Southampton instead set up in the increasingly-popular 3-4-3, with Jan Bednarek making his Saints debut along Stephens and Maya Yoshida at the back.
However, Pellegrino’s side were bullied off the ball, with Oriol Romeu having a quiet night in midfield and James Ward-Prowse struggling with a more physical role in the centre of the park.
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It was the young Englishman who was arguably at fault for the first goal, which the travelling fans had to wait until the second half for. The Wolves captain rose to powerfully header the ball into the far corner, which Ward-Prowse was meant to be marking.
"“It was a difficult night because we gave one step backwards in our performance,” – Pellegrino"
20-year-old forward Donovan Wilson scored Nuno’s side’s second of the evening in the 87th minute, with the Saints throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Wolves in order to get back into the game. The sucker-punch effort was Wilson’s first competitive goal in senior football.
It means that it’s been another debatable performance for Fraser Forster in goal, with the recently-penned goalkeeper conceding his fourth goal in under a week. Supporters were hoping they’d get a chance to see Alex McCarthy get an opportunity.
However it means that Southampton fans won’t need to get up at an ungodly hour to see the draw for the next round, which takes place in the early hours of the morning.