Watford took both their early chances and held firm at Vicarage Road. Cyle Larin pulled one back just before the hour, set up by Cameron Bragg, yet 17 shots produced only three on target and Southampton go home from the opening weekend empty handed.
Goalkeeper and Defenders
Daniel Peretz — 6/10. Neither goal was a howler. Both were cheap, though. Iker Bravo's opener was worth 0.11 expected goals and Amin Nabizada's second only 0.08, so a keeper wants better from one of the two. He played 25 passes at 68 per cent accuracy, went long a dozen times and picked out a team-mate with four of them. Two clearances. After the interval he was a spectator.
James Bree — 6/10. Booked on 18 minutes. He spent long spells high up the right touchline and racked up 54 touches. Two key passes, two tackles and 93.9 per cent pass accuracy read well. Six crosses, only two accurate, does not.
Jack Stephens — 5/10. The lowest mark on the day. Watford scored twice inside the opening half hour, the second on a fast break, and the back line was stretched both times. Stephens sat central and fairly deep throughout. He got through plenty of work on the ball, 78 touches at 89.7 per cent, plus three clearances, an interception and a block. Totally at fault for the first goal and far too slow to respond to the danger for the second.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis — 7/10. Southampton's best defender, and their biggest miss. He kept stepping into the Watford half, finishing with 102 touches and 84 passes at 89.3 per cent, including 10 accurate long balls from 13. Add four clearances, two blocks, two tackles and five aerials won. Then, in the 90th minute, the best chance of the whole match fell to him at 0.47 expected goals. He could not take it.
Ryan Manning — 7/10. Nobody on the pitch touched the ball more. His 109 touches sat almost entirely inside the attacking half, often right up by the left byline. He passed at 91.8 per cent and created three chances. The crossing was the problem. Thirteen went in, one found a Saints shirt.
Midfielders
Flynn Downes — 7.5/10. Seven tackles. Nobody else in a Southampton shirt managed more than four. He roamed the whole middle band of the pitch rather than anchoring one zone, and 60 passes at 88.3 per cent kept Southampton ticking. Booked on 74 minutes. A proper shift in a beaten side.
Cameron Bragg — 7/10. The assist was lovely. He picked out Larin on 56 minutes. It was the sharpest pass Saints played all afternoon, delivered by a midfielder who caught the eye off the bench at Colchester in midweek. Four tackles, an interception and a block on the other side of the ball. He also got forward into the right channel more often than Downes. Withdrawn on 70 minutes, which looked early given how the game was going.
Attacking Players
Kuryu Matsuki — 6.5/10. He held the width high on the right for most of the afternoon. Two key passes, two shots, three tackles and two blocks add up to a busy display. Control was the flaw. Eight unsuccessful touches was the worst count in the side. Off on 89 minutes.
Léo Scienza — 6/10. Named in the number ten role, he drifted left almost every time Saints built. Watford fouled him four times, which says plenty about the mischief he caused. Five crosses, none accurate, and 77.1 per cent pass accuracy left him the least reliable starter in possession.
Lewis Dobbin — 5.5/10. Quiet. He tucked inside off the left instead of stretching the pitch, and 33 touches in 56 minutes tells the story. One shot, one dribble, one offside. Tonda Eckert replaced him first, just before the hour.
Cyle Larin — 7.5/10. Southampton's player of the match. His finish on 56 minutes was clean and low, from a chance rated 0.25 expected goals. The away end finally had something to shout about. Three shots, two on target, more than anyone else in red and white. He was booked on 14 minutes, caught offside twice and dispossessed three times, but 30 touches for a lone forward against a deep block is thin service. Saints fans have been split on his long-term future; afternoons like this help his case.
Substitutes - Player Ratings
Finn Azaz — 6/10. On for Dobbin on 57 minutes. He found 28 touches and two key passes in just over half an hour. Two shots, neither on target. Lively, never decisive.
Samuel Edozie — 6.5/10. Twenty minutes, 14 touches, a key pass and an accurate cross from two attempts. The brightest of the changes.
Divin Mubama — 6/10. Three touches and three passes across his 20 minutes. The game passed him by.
Ben Brereton Diaz — N/A. Sent on in the 89th minute with Saints chasing. Not one touch recorded.
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