Southampton lost their third home game in a row under Mauricio Pellegrino, and the team have now conceded five times and scored no goals in games against Wolves, Watford and Manchester United respectively.
However, for Southampton fans and Pellegrino, this was a very encouraging performance despite the home side losing the game 1-0.
In a sloppy first half for the Saints, United took the lead iwhen Romelu Lukaku tapped in at the second time of asking from close range following a fantastic save from Fraser Forster. It was Lukaku’s eighth goal of the season – twice the amount of goals scored by the entire Saints squad this campaign!
Despite a slow, disjointed and frustrating first half, Southampton came flying out of the blocks after the half time interval, dominating possession with an attacking purpose.
However, it wasn’t meant to be for the Saints with Oriol Romeu missing the two best chances for the hosts as they slipped to a their second defeat in the league this season.
Here’s how I reviewed Pellegrino’s managerial performance following the unfortunate defeat to the early season pace setters.
The Starting XI
Mauricio Pellegrino started with the same side that earned an excellent win away at Crystal Palace in his side’s previous fixture.
Personally, I was frustrated not the see Virgil Van Dijk back in the starting XI, as I felt a partnership of him and Hoedt would have effectively dealt with the threat of Romelu Lukaku.
It was also frustrating to see Manolo Gabbiadini on the bench again as Shane Long was isolated and wasn’t comfortable working in tight spaces, something which is a strength of Gabbiadini.
The Tactics
When it came down to the tactical side of Southampton’s play, it was a game of two halves.
The first half from a tactical sense saw Saints try to sit and soak up the pressure, whilst only pressing in certain areas of the pitch, trying to hit United on the counter attack.
The second half was a complete tactical flip as Saints were pressing higher up the pitch and a lot more aggressive in their play as they searched for the illusive equaliser. Southampton’s second half tactical switch changed United’s tactical performance in the second half as the visitors were camped in their own half and were very limited going forward.
The Substitutions
Surprisingly the first of the substitutions didn’t come until the 73rd minute when skipper Steven Davis was replaced by Gabbiadini, this was a positive move, poising an extra forward on to threaten the visitors. However, Southampton’s play in the second half after Davis came off became less fluid.
Ten minutes later Charlie Austin and James Ward-Prowse replaced Shane Long and surprisingly Cedric.
I admire Pellegrino as he was clearly trying to influence the game by taking a defender off for another midfield option, however, should Saints have had equalised they would have had no recognised right back on the field and therefore would be more vulnerable down the right hand side of their defence.
Post Match Comments and Reaction
In his post match comments, Pellegrino eluded to his side’s lack of goals and stated that it is something that him, his staff and his players have to work on to improve.
Pellegrino also took positives from his side’s performance and praising them for playing “really well against one of the biggest sides in the Premier League” and said it was a good marker to see how his side compared to the highest calibre of opponents.
Overall assessment and mark out of ten
I am going to give Pellegrino a six out of ten for his managerial performance against United. Despite a positive second half by all accounts, with much to take to build on, Saints still suffered a third home defeat in a row without scoring.
Southampton travel to the Bet 365 next weekend to face Stoke City, it will be interesting to see if the side take the positives from the second half performance against United and use them to push forward.
