Everton 2-1 Southampton: Player ratings – 18/08/18
By Chris Hughes
Strikers and substitutes
Charlie Austin – Striker – 5.5
Austin had a tough afternoon and it seemed like he still wasn’t at full fitness as he struggled to offer any kind of intensity to the Saints’ attacks. He had three shots in total but none of them forced Pickford into a save – he’ll hope for a better performance next week.
Danny Ings – Striker – 8.5
Ings was without a doubt Southampton’s best player yesterday afternoon – he had six of the Saints’ 15 shots with two of those being on target. He was energetic and broke behind the back of the Everton defence on multiple occasions, something which the Saints have really missed since Shane Long’s last decent season for the club.
Shane Long – First substitute – 6.5
Long has a nice involvement off the bench as he played the majority of the game out on the right side where his pace and work-rate were effective without having to rely on him for scoring. Hopefully Mark Hughes will regularly deploy him as a right-winger off the striker.
Manolo Gabbadini – Second substitute – 5.5
Gabbi came off the bench but didn’t have a great amount of impact in the 20 minutes or so he played. He had one good chance which led to nothing.
Stuart Armstrong – Third substitute – 5
The Scot played the final ten minutes but didn’t have much time to make an impact as Everton were defending their lead.