Feyenoord 1-3 Southampton: Saints win again as Hasenhuttl hints at his favoured line-up

Southampton beat Feyenoord 3-1 in Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon as they continued their positive preparations for the 2019/20 season.

Che Adams kept up his rate of early scoring so far for Saints as he netted after six minutes, but the hosts at De Kuip equalised through Orkun Kokcu midway through the first-half.

However, Maya Yoshida got Saints back in front when he stabbed home and Sofiane Boufal – back in from the cold at St Mary’s – put the win beyond doubt with a well-taken effort in second-half injury time.

With ten changes at half-time and two different systems utilised by Ralph Hasenhuttl during the match, Saints fans will be curious as to which setup they will see during their side’s opening Premier League fixture with Burnley.

It is widely expected that Hasenhuttl’s preferred 4-2-2-2 will pay a bigger part than it did during the 2018/29 campaign, but it was a 5-3-2 that he strongest 11 operated in on Sunday.

A strong looking side in the first-half saw Angus Gunn shielded by a back five of Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard, Maya Yoshida and Ryan Bertrand.

A central-midfield partnership of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and James Ward-Prowse had Nathan Redmond operating just ahead of them, whilst Danny Ings and Che Adams were in attack.

Adams scored his third goal of this pre-season when he and others pressed the Feyenoord defence with pace, allowing the striker to poke home once he had stolen the ball from his closest opponent.

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Some defensive frailties were still seen as Saints conceded the second goal of the game and Angus Gunn did have to make one important save in the first-half.

Maya Yoshida was alert to stab in a rebound from James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick, but the best goal of the game came when Sofiane Boufal rounded off the afternoon.

He collected a cross inside the area and evaded the challenges of a defender and goalkeeper with one subtle drop of the shoulder before finishing well.

After being given little hope of continuing his Saints career in this season, it appears that he may still have a bit of Moroccan flair to give Ralph Hasenhuttl when the Premier League gets underway again.

Perhaps it is dangerous to assume too much after this penultimate pre-season clash. However, there certainly were hints as to which players and which systems could be vital for Saints as they look to improve on two poor seasons previously.

Feyenoord team

Kenneth Vermeer, Sven van Beek (Jan-Arie van der Heijden 41), Jeremiah St Juste, Ridgeciano Haps, Steven Berghuis, Sam Larsson (Luis Sinisterra 8), Leroy Fer (Liam Kelly 65), Orkun Kokcu (Luciano Narsingh 74), Eric Botteghin, Dylan Vente (Naoufal Bannis 71), Wouter Burger

Unused subs: Tyrell Malacia, Nick Marsman, Jordy Wehrmann, Elber Evora, Emil Hansson, Lutsharel Geertruida

Saints’ first-half team

Angus Gunn, Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, Jannik Vestergaard, Maya Yoshida, Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond, Che Adams, Danny Ings

Saints’ second-half team

Alex McCarthy, Cedric Soares, Wesley Hoedt, Jannik Vestergaard, Jack Vokins, Harrison Reed, Will Smallbone, Stuart Armstrong, Sofiane Boufal, Michael Obafemi, Shane Long

Unused subs throughout 90: Fraser Forster, Josh Sims