The Southampton battler who was quietly crucial during the big Millwall win

Southampton knew they were in for a testing afternoon against a combative Millwall side at St. Mary's.

Indeed, the Lions are a physically imposing side, to say the least, with the likes of Jake Cooper at the back prepared to run through a brick wall for Alex Neil's men.

Still, despite Millwall being known as a gritty opponent to overcome, they crumbled when facing an unbelievable Saints attack, with Cyle Larin, Finn Azaz, and Leo Scienza such a hard trio to contain, when they're all singing off the same hymn sheet.

Larin would collect two goals in typically potent fashion, while Azaz would also tap home a simple finish into an empty net, after Scienza left multiple Lions shirts in his dust with a dazzling run.

He would then bag a penalty himself for 3-1, as Tonda Eckert's men wholeheartedly deserved a shock 5-1 victory at the full-time whistle.

Away from wiping the floor with Neil and Co. from an attacking standpoint, the Saints also rolled up their sleeves and battled well, against their notoriously attritional opponents.

Southampton battled well against Millwall

Keven Schlotterbeck was handed his Southampton debut against Millwall which could have been a daunting first game for the German centre-back on English shores.

Instead, he took the challenge in his stride, with three aerial duels won, three interceptions registered, and six clearances amassed, as the likes of Josh Coburn were comfortably dealt with.

Moreover, Cameron Bragg didn't look out of his depth coming up against the early league leaders, with the baby-faced number 26 winning three tackles and duels, all while calmly orchestrating play from deep with four key passes sticking out.

James Bree also won seven tackles and duels valiantly as one of Schlotterbeck's trusty teammates in the rigid Saints backline.

Safe to say, it was a polished display all round, all the way from the entertaining attackers, to the other individuals on the pitch just ensuring that Millwall were kept at arm's length throughout the majority of the contest.

There's one battler who hasn't been mentioned, yet, however, who was quietly crucial during the big win over the East London visitors, who had to be taken off due to an unfortunate head injury.

This Saints star is quietly crucial

Flynn Downes would only feature for the first 45 minutes of the frantic affair, but he certainly left his mark on proceedings, before he had to be taken off as a precaution.

Indeed, he would win the same amount of ground duels that Bree won, who featured for the full 90 minutes, at three.

He has also now launched himself into ten tackles across the full season, off the back of being a dependable anchor again on Saturday afternoon.

Downes did let this headstrong approach to his game get the better of him last season when he was sent off against his former employers Swansea City, but the determined number four has managed to go about his business this campaign, without another unwanted red card bothering him, thankfully.

He did end up having to go off just for being so unashamedly brash with his physical approach, but Eckert will be desperately hoping he can call upon his tried and true anchor when facing Birmingham City on Tuesday night.

He would love to get under the skin of the Blues with another tenacious display, having stated that the Millwall win was "a lovely day at the office" on social media for how physical it got at points.

Having been around the block for quite a few seasons now at Southampton, with Downes a key figure in Russell Martin's 2023/24 promotion story, he remains one of the first names on Eckert's team sheet when he's fit, even if he's not as flashy as the likes of Larin and Scienza.

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