Burnley 3-0 Southampton: Premier League – Three Key Players
By Erik Franzo
Southampton’s high hopes were quickly flipped upside-down as Burnley scored 3 goals in 12 minutes to brush the Saints aside.
It was certainly not the opening week Southampton FC fans expected. The preseason was promising, the owners spent some money, and Ralph Hasenhuttl has gained the trust of pretty much everyone. Burnley however, did not receive the memo, and Sean Dyche’s anti-football game plan erased any hope of a promising 2019-20 season kickoff.
The first half was mistake laden on both sides of the pitch. Southampton set up in a 3-4-3, but got next to nothing out of their front three of Redmond, Adams, and Ings. To make matters worse, Burnley completed just 55% of their passes, playing right into Hasenhuttl’s counter-attacking tactics, but the Saints managed just 3 shots on target.
The second half was undone by a single wind-affected ball which Jannik Vestergaard failed to clear away with his head. Ashley Barnes scored the first of his two goals as a direct result of the blemish, bringing back nightmares of Cardiff City away. This was the moment that broke the Southampton reserve, and the mentality lapse led to a Barnes double just 7 minutes later. The second goal was a run, again missed by Vestergaard, but just as alarming was the lack of pressure on the ball from midfield.
Hasenhuttl made a double switch and brought on the ill captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the technical talent Sofiane Boufal. Although, it proved to be not Southampton’s night as Burnley scored just two minutes following their introduction.
It is very easy to get down on the result, but there were three key standout Southampton players from the week 1 performance.