Southampton were beaten 0-1 at St. Mary’s by Raul Jimenez’s first Premier League goal in 10 months.
Ralph Hasenhuttl continues to rotate his players thanks to the club addressing squad depth. Alex McCarthy is the #1 keeper and is quieting doubters with back to back shutouts. Kyle Walker-Peters appears to be outplaying Romain Perraud, although tactics are likely a selection discussion. The Mohammed Salisu/Jan Bednarek pairing however is one to stay, with Jack Stephens sidelined and Lyanco showing he needs time to adapt to Premier League play.
Kyle-Walker Peters was the focus of the first half attack. Read that again. A right footed wing-back cutting in from the left side was the best idea Southampton could come up with. Che Adams was awesome creating chances without the ball, but whenever it fell to him, Armstrong or Elyounoussi, it felt entirely unconvincing.
Raul Jimenez altered the match with a solo effort goal. Jan Bednarek was out-muscled 1v1 and Mohammed Salisu did not do enough in recovery. The distribution from Wolves keeper José Sá was perfect, but Jimenez abused Bednarek’s willingness to stay tight. Coming off the back of a flurry of Saints’ chances, it was a massive disappointment within the storyline.
Nathan Tella was left out again as Shane Long was sought out as a late game hero. Moussa Djenepo and Armando Broja were both used early off the bench, but the latter barely found the ball and it was more of the same theatrics from Moussa.
Three consecutive Premier League matches without a goal scored is a worrying trend. Even more so if you watched the team fold in the attacking third. Chance creation is not an issue. Taking chances is, and Southampton need someone to reset the confidence ASAP.
Here are the player ratings for the Southampton players in the loss to Wolves.