Crystal Palace 1-0 Southampton: Three Match Takeaway Thoughts

All is not lost

Southampton’s abysmal record on the opening day of the season was continued at Crystal Palace but Saints fans should not despair just yet. Much hard work lies ahead for Ralph Hasenhuttl to inject the quality, intensity and character witnessed at the tail end of last season but there has not been a dramatic overhaul of a squad which, let us not forget, were only recently being lauded for their dominant displays.

Critics will point to the departure of Hojbjerg to Tottenham, but the reality is that the Danish midfielder was not integral to the late season renaissance over the summer. It is worth noting Southampton do need another central midfielder and the Austrian manager has been frank publicly that he would like to add to his squad.

Yet the performance against The Eagles was underwhelming because the players picked did not perform to their expected levels. Jack Stephens was a revelation over the summer months but he and Bednarek looked continually exposed against the industry of the Palace forward line. Romeu and Ward-Prowse worked hard for the common cause, although they looked limited offensively in the absence of Armstrong.

As for Nathan Redmond, this was surely his worst performance in a Saints shirt for a considerable period. The winger lacked his usual buoyancy and was seemingly reluctant to take on his man, whilst his shooting was tentative.

If Hasenhuttl can restore the urgency and relentless hunger for the ball that this same side produced merely weeks ago, there is no impediment to Southampton having a fruitful campaign. A glance to the past would see that in the season Southampton finished 6th under Ronald Koeman, they amassed a mere 6 points from their first 6 games. Watch this space…