Southampton: 3 things we noticed from friendly victory vs Bristol City

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 29: Will Smallbone of Southampton at full time of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Southampton FC at London Stadium on February 29, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 29: Will Smallbone of Southampton at full time of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Southampton FC at London Stadium on February 29, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
3 of 4
Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Midfielders make a real impact

Notably, Stuart Armstrong scored two of Saints’ three goals in this game. One was a decent finish into a mostly open goal, whilst the second finished a superb team move in perfect fashion.

Other players will need to weigh in with goals to aid the likes of Danny Ings in between now and the end of the season and Armstrong may be one to chip in with a few more.

From the highlights, it looks like Will Smallbone had a very good game in midfield too.

The 20-year-old signed a new four-year contract earlier this week and played a huge part in Saints’ second goal.

He received a pass from Ryan Bertrand centrally and then played a smart one-two with Danny Ings. In classy style, he then laid on the perfect pass from Armstrong to slot home and perhaps put his name forward for more starts in the rest of the campaign in the process.