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Southampton 2-5 Spurs: Three Match Takeaway Thoughts

By Marc Walker

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Ralph Hasenhuttl of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's Stadium on September 20, 2020 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Ralph Hasenhuttl of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary's Stadium on September 20, 2020 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /
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Will Smallbone, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Tella (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Will Smallbone, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Tella (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /

Pressing intensity hints at need for more training ground work

Ralph Hasenhuttl was firm on his assessment of the loss and explained how his sides pressing of Spurs when they were on the ball was the reason for their downfall.

This, in turn, enabled the visitors to St Mary’s to exploit their high defensive line at will due to being able to pick the passes that they wanted.

Via fbref.com, we can see that Saints’ pressing has been down on their averages from last season.

Against Crystal Palace, they pressured the ball 142 times. Versus Spurs, it was just 95 times. When compared to the average of 180 in 2019/20, it is safe to assume that Saints are running out of steam too early at the moment due to not having a long pre-season to work on regaining that fitness.

With a free week now up until their next game against Burnley, let’s hope Saints can improve those numbers next time out.