Yoshida for Cedric was tactical

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has all but confirmed that bringing in Maya Yoshida at right-back for Cedric Soares was a tactical change and not forced by an injury to the Portuguese defender.

It was a bewildering decision that left many fans fuming with the Dutch boss and it was easy to see why. Inside the opening 20 minutes Southampton were 2-0 down and Yoshida had already made a catastrophic error at the back to gift Raheem Sterling the ball as he went on to square for De Bruyne to make it 1-0.

He has already played Yoshida a few times on the right side of defence this season and each time it has cost Southampton points. Yet, Koeman still justifies his reasoning somehow despite the glaringly obvious; Yoshida is simply not good enough.

When speaking about the loss and the selection of Maya Yoshida, the Saints boss had this to say:

We showed in the second half that we can keep the ball and have good possession. We had the best chance to make it 2-2 through Tadic. It is important the players take out the positives in the second half.

We have big competition in our squad.

I think it was a moment to change and give other players a chance. We know Maya (Yoshida) is more defensive. It is always difficult if you change a player in that position and he makes a mistake.