A Striking Partnership
Five games played and Danny Ings and Che Adams have a single goal between them, and what a goal it was! For roughly 40 millions pounds, Southampton fans were expecting a little bit more. Even greater of a worry is the lack of the connection between the two, playing together primarily in the 4-2-2-2.
Ings has flashed some decent hold up play and has an assist to his name. He appears to be dropping deeper to receive the ball and successful in his pressing tactics, but is ultimately judged by goal tally. Ings missed a sitter to tie the game against Liverpool and created next to nothing in the Brighton match. Against United, he worked hard and helped generate attacks, but where were his chances to score? He did get the header on frame which ultimately resulted in the Vestergaard goal.
Adams is a whole another story. He has had a few real chances drop to him, but is rushing those opportunities. Sofiane Boufal set him up nicely to tie the game early in the second half, and he scuffed it off the side of his foot. It looks like he needs to just break the ice, but until he does, there seems to be a lot of pressure sitting on his shoulders.
The issue at hand is the two striker format is not connecting when the Saints are in possession. Without possession, they press together effectively, but once the ball is won, they look lost. If you look closely, Ings is largely dictating the pair’s movement, and sending Che away from the ball. This is something to monitor going forward, but a striking partnership is not something that is going away. These are Hasenhuttl’s guys and he expects them to score, Saints fans need to be patient and hope it pays off.