Southampton 1-0 Manchester City: Three Key Saints Players in the win

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Josep Guardiola of Manchester City with Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Redmond of Southampton after his sides 1-0 defeat during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Josep Guardiola of Manchester City with Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Redmond of Southampton after his sides 1-0 defeat during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 05: Jack Stephens of Southampton and Alex McCarthy of Southampton celebrate following their team’s victory in the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary’s Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 05: Jack Stephens of Southampton and Alex McCarthy of Southampton celebrate following their team’s victory in the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary’s Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Jack Stephens

The squad excelled themselves during the evening’s action with last-ditch clearances, and block after block against the Man City onslaught. Chief among the entrenched generals holding the fort was Jack Stephens.

If the ball found its way into the box the centre back was never far away. With the amount of action the Saint was called upon to take you would think he was the ball’s shadow.

Statistics supplied by the Telegraph shows the size of the achieved task. SFC made 57 clearances, 27 interceptions, and made 11 blocks on opposition attempts.

Stephens was responsible for a large chunk of this effort and with the sizable help of his defensive colleagues saw off the away side’s threat. Even Danny Ings deputized at the back to ensure the line wasn’t breached.