Sheffield United 0-1 Southampton: Premier League – Three Match Takeaways

The Defence Is Finally Coming Good

If you’re a regular reader of Saints marching then you’ll know that last season’s discussions long focused on a shaky mentally fragile defence liable to give up sloppy last-minute goals over and over again.

That’s why, with six games in all competitions now in the books it’s important to offer some much-deserved praise for work well done. The club has now achieved three back to back away wins with clean sheets to boot. This is the first time a Southampton team has managed this since 1986 according to the Football Paradise.

Whether it be Jannik Vestergaard, Maya Yoshida, Jan Bednarek, or Kevin Danso they have cut out most of the fundamental mistakes, and practically all the last-minute jitters. The centre backs have been confident in dealing with most of the obvious threats the opposition have attempted to throw at them.

The back line is far from perfect with Angus Gunn often saving the day, but the Saints of at least cut down on shooting themselves in the foot. Every team makes mistakes or reflects upon improvements that could have been made, but it’s the mistakes that gift wrap victories that truly frustrate fans.

Southampton dealt with the late pressure of Manchester United as well as 10 men could be expected to, and have now built upon their efforts by holding out against Chris Wilder’s men.

The Yorkshire side passed up good opportunities and perhaps should have taken something from the contest. The top-flight is a competitive league and chances are always given up no matter how strong the backline is.

Unfortunately, the talents of Virgil van Dijk and  José Fonte have now departed the South coast and have left big shoes to fill. While it’s incredibly difficult to emulate that success the current crop are at least beginning to make it more difficult for counterparts to break them down.

Given how poor things were last campaign this is a great step forward.