Manager, Goalkeeper and Defenders
Ralph Hasenhuttl, Manager-6.5
The League Cup always throws up the interesting challenge of wishing to progress through the competition, whilst needing to keep the squad fit and fresh for Premier League priorities ahead. Ralph Hasenhuttl made multiple changes from the team who took on Brighton at the weekend.
This included giving starts to exciting prospects Moussa Djenepo and Sofiane Boufal. Curiously, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg apparently took up the left back position. Although the five changes didn’t help Saints avoid a sluggish start, the side dominated the second half and were worthy winners in the end. A decent day at the office for the gaffer.
Alex McCarthy, Goalkeeper-7.5
Taking up the gloves from a resting Angus Gunn, McCarthy was forced to smartly flick the ball over his crossbar. That goal saving action within the first quarter of an hour was pretty much the extent of his night’s work.
Cédric Soares, Right Back-6.5
No thrills or spills for Cédric. Although he’s not likely to be replacing Yan Valery anytime soon, it was a solid performance.
Jan Bednarek, Defender-6.5
There were one or two near misses for the defence as a whole, but as BBC sport points out they only gave up one shot on target in the entire game. By most people’s definitions that is considered a good performance.
Kevin Danso, Defender-7
Despite being troubled by the pace of an opposition attack in the early going, Danso recovered quickly to have a fairly comfortable night.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Left Back-8
Carl Anka of the Athletic reported that the gaffer and Højbjerg had been working on this left back posting. The reporter conveyed that: “it’s something they’ve worked on and it’s a lesson that a good player can play out of position.”
While apparently not in his natural position, PEH had a strong showing. The captain went virtually unnoticed in his new role and played a major part in Southampton’s victory. The Dane played a nice long ball to find Redmond who then set the goal in motion.