Southampton: Analyzing another masterclass from Mario Lemina

This weekend saw Southampton draw 2-2 with the recently-promoted Newcastle United – a game that saw Mario Lemina produce another impressive performance.

The Saints’ transfer policy over the summer was seemingly quite hit and miss – Virgil van Dijk remained with the side, but no attacking reinforcement was brought in. However, of Southampton’s three main arrivals, one has certainly surpassed expectations.

Mario Lemina has produced impressive performances week in, week out, and if it wasn’t for a Gabbiadini brace he would’ve grabbed more of the headlines against Newcastle.

The midfielder’s passing was the best of anyone on the pitch, but what made it all-the-more impressive was his range.

The 24-year-old rarely played the safe option or looked for the sideways pass – instead he was constantly looking to start attacks and play the ball forward.

Although Gabbiadini occasionally drifted deeper behind Shane Long, the Italian still got forward a lot more than Steven Davis, who had played as a pseudo-number ten in previous weeks. This meant the Saints were a lot more spaced out with much more room between the midfield and forwards.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Lemina however made light work of this and drove forward to fill the void that Davis usually occupied, meaning the Saints weren’t as light on the attack as they perhaps could’ve been.

On the back foot he played a crucial role too – his match-up against eventual substitute Mikel Merino proved to be the key midfield battle.

His defensive stats were just as good as his attacking stats which is perhaps the most surprising thing about him – having won several plaudits for his movement forward from the defensive midfield spot.

What shouldn’t be overlooked is the hard work of Oriol Romeu next to him. The Spaniard was seemingly the main man at the club after Van Dijk got injured, but has had to take a backseat role to allow the Gabonese man to control the games like he has done.

Romeu has remained disciplined on defense in a set-up that has required him to do so even more than before, and has flourished as a result. Hopefully the two can continue to be Southampton’s linchpin for the rest of the season.