Crystal Palace 0-2 Southampton 01/09/18: 3 Key Players

Mario Lemina

The more defensively-minded of the Midfield two, and his performance perhaps went under the radar somewhat.

So often, Lemina has been the player looking to bring the ball forward and initiate attacks. But yesterday he switched roles with Hojbjerg and it paid off massively for Mark Hughes.

Four tackles, two interceptions and seven clearances came from the man from Gabon, and he completed over 80% of his passes throughout the 90.

Oriol Romeu has been the go to defensive-midfielder in the past two seasons but it looks like Lemina may be close to claiming this position for himself.

The Hojbjerg and Lemina partnership combines two player signed from Bayern Munich and Juventus respectively, so maybe now is the time when Saints fans will see their true talents come to the fore.