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Southampton: Don’t write off Manolo Gabbiadini

By Edward Waugh

WIGAN, ENGLAND - MARCH 18: Manolo Gabbiadini of Southampton misses a penalty as it is saved by Christian Walton of Wigan Athletic (not pictured) during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
WIGAN, ENGLAND - MARCH 18: Manolo Gabbiadini of Southampton misses a penalty as it is saved by Christian Walton of Wigan Athletic (not pictured) during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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The Italian striker did not have the best return to the starting line-up – missing two great chances, including a penalty that could’ve seen off Wigan earlier in the FA quarter-final tie.

This was Manolo Gabbiadini’s first start since the end of January – a spell of almost two months where the striker seemed to fall out of favour with ex-manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

New boss Mark Hughes opted for a rare two-up-top system on Sunday, which included Gabbiadini, and therefore gave him an opportunity to prove himself to Hughes, however this did not come to tuition.

The former Napoli man failed to convert a 1-on-1 with the Wigan goalkeeper, after a dodgy backpass from their full-back played the striker in on goal – with what was a somewhat rash finish.

Luckily Gabbiadini was saved from looking to have cost Saints the lead after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put the visitors on their way to a rare win in the 62nd minute – though ten minutes later, the striker was gifted another chance of redemption with a penalty kick.

It can only be described as a top-notch save by the keeper, Manolo’s effort was low and well driven despite the Wigan stopper coming out on top.

Next: Wigan 0-2 Saints: Match takeaways

WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Christian Walton of Wigan Athletic (1) saves a penalty from Manolo Gabbiadini of Southamptonduring The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Christian Walton of Wigan Athletic (1) saves a penalty from Manolo Gabbiadini of Southamptonduring The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Luckily for the 5’11 striker, Southampton ended off the game in the dying moments – with Cedric Soares scoring his first competitive goal for the south-coast club to make it 2-0.

However, to stay he didn’t have ‘egg on his face’ would be misguided (Gabbiadini), this due to him not taking his chances and not really having his best game in a Southampton shirt – in fact this season turning out to be quite lacklustre for the striker.

This could be put down to confidence and mismanagement of the striker this season, who was very much in redhot form following his move to England last January – dropped by Mauricio Pellegrino for no given reason despite his talents.

Many might’ve started to write the striker off for this season following not just Wigan but other games too – however his finish against Burnley last month should be an indication of how clinical he can be when he’s got a point to prove.

Does he have a point to prove now? I think so – and with Hughes opting to go with two-up-top we could still see Gabbiadini feature a lot between now and the end of this season. If he can emulate his form of last season then it provide Saints the platform to steer clear of trouble and potentially an FA cup final.

With Hughes saying he can offer the squad a better mentality in attacking, then fingers crossed we will see him get the best out of Gabbiadini – though we will have to wait and see.