Southampton: 10 surprising stats that sum up Saints’ start to the season

Southampton have had a mixed start to their Premier League season with two wins, one draw and four losses in their opening seven games.

With an upcoming run of fixtures that look very tough on paper, they will need to play at their best to get some more points on the board.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has implemented his pressing style on his squad, but performances have not been at optimal levels all of the time.

Looking back on the first seven games of the campaign, here are 10 stats that sum up Saints’ start to 2019/20.

(All stats via premierleague.com)

1) Hasenhuttl doesn’t mind direct play

Somewhat surprisingly, Saints have played the third-most direct balls in their opening seven Premier League matches.

Their total of 468 long balls so far is behind only Sheffield United on 509 and Burnley on 503.

Whilst it is refreshing that the current Saints boss doesn’t mind his team mixing up their play, he may need to refine their approach further in the tough upcoming run of fixtures.

2) Adams has had good chances so far

A lot of excitement was created when Saints finally confirmed the signing of Che Adams from Birmingham City during the summer.

Despite some red-hot form in pre-season, the striker is yet to find the net in domestic football.

His struggles to date are summed up by the fact that he has missed five big chances in the first seven Premier League games of the season; the joint-second most in the top-flight.

Let’s us hope that he finds those shooting boots soon!

3) But he deserves some patience from us all

Despite his missing of some good chances so far, Adams has been substituted the most of any Saints player so far this campaign.

He has been taken off six times so far and has missed 181 minutes on the pitch as a result.

With Saints playing a fair amount of direct balls up to him too, he has had to try and compete with some imposing defenders so far too; sometimes all on his own.

4) Saints struggling to create space in behind…

According to the Premier League’s official stats, Saints have played the least through balls in the opening seven league games.

They have played just three so far, which is 23 less than Manchester City and level with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace.

Creating space and chances was a real issue against Spurs on Saturday, so perhaps more risks would lead to reward.

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• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

5) And failing to test keepers enough

The front four of Che Adams, Danny Ings, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond has been fielded most for Saints so far this season.

They have had 51 shots between them in their time on the pitch so far, but just 12 of those efforts have been on target.

It has been a similar story for the rest of the Saints squad too. 97 shots have been seen in seven games so far, with just 31 of those on target.

6) Hojbjerg has been busiest on the ball

Saints captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is often a busy presence in midfield and he has had more touches and made the more passes than any of his teammates.

He has touched the ball 532 times and made 418 passes whilst on the ball, confirming that he is the best ball carrier that Saints currently have.

With the team struggling to break teams down at times though, he and Oriol Romeu may need to take it upon themselves to take more risks.

7) Romeu is crucial in the current style

Oriol Romeu is well-known for his tackling ability, and for sometimes getting too many yellow cards.

However, his value to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s pressing style is clear with the number of tackles he makes per game.

To date, he has made the fourth-most tackles in the Premier League this season with 28.

8) Gunn has been busy

Angus Gunn is clearly Saints’ first-choice goalkeeper this season and he has been busy.

He has made 21 saves, 21 throw outs and 61 goal kicks in seven games, but may need to settle himself down for the upcoming games with Alex McCarthy waiting in the wings.

Two mistakes have come in his last two league games against Bournemouth and Spurs and they led directly to goals.

9) Bednarek has been very good…

With 17 interceptions, 41 clearances, 21 aerial battles won and 17 tackles, Jan Bednarek has been the busiest Saints defender overall.

Along with Angus Gunn and James Ward-Prowse, he has so played every minute in the league so far.

The central-defensive partners that he has played with have changed, but the Poland international rightly looks to be Hasenhuttl’s first-choice defender currently.

10) And a bit unlucky

So far, Bednarek has a league high of two mistakes that have led directly to goals.

One saw him giving the ball away just before Roberto Firmino’s second Liverpool goal in the 2-1 home loss, whilst another saw him in a right mix up with Angus Gunn against Bournemouth.

However, it can be argued that neither of these were his fault and that he was played into trouble by his teammates in each.