Southampton 1-0 West Bromwich Albion: Four match takeaways

Two up front

In his latest effort to recapture the Saints’ long-lost scoring form, Mauricio Pellegrino opted to start two up front for the first time this season.

The chosen men were Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long, resulting in Nathan Redmond dropping to the bench. When the teams were announced I imagine a lot of fans were delighted by these selection choices.

Gabbiadini’s natural movement is certainly more dangerous when he is partnered with another striker. But regardless of some nice moves, including a sweeping two-man counter-attack in the first half, neither he nor Long managed to get on the score-sheet.

The decision to start two strikers also had an effect on other areas of the team. Saints often looked very narrow when going forward, with width coming solely from the fullbacks. Mario Lemina and Steven Davis were also in slightly new positions, however both proved their adaptability and acquitted themselves well.

The stats support Pellegrino’s switch too. Saints had more shots than in any match so far this season, both on and off target. They also had their second highest rate of possession and created the most chances since the opening day of the season.