Southampton kicked off their Premier League campaign on Saturday when they welcomed Swansea City to St Mary’s in front of a full-house.
This was Mauricio Pellegrino’s first competitive game in charge of the Saints and he will have been hoping to see some impressive displays.
Whilst the game ended in a frustrating goalless draw, much like the end of last season under Claude Puel, Saints fans can take heart from the fact that their side were by far the better team. The Saints were often criticised for playing dull, unattractive football last season – particularly on the South Coast, but Saturday demonstrated that fans could be in line for some more explosive performances this year, with the team managing 29 shots on goal.
Pellegrino will be disappointed that none of those shots ended up in the back of the net and the players will likely be equally frustrated. It is, however, early days in the season and there were clearly some positives to take away from the game. Here are five players who impressed in Southampton’s first game of 2017/18
