Southampton Player Ratings: Brighton (A)
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Southampton failed to win yet another must-win game on Sunday, as they could only manage a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Mauricio Pellegrino named a strong side, with the likes of Sofiane Boufal and Wesley Hoedt earning recalls. However, the approach remained the same, and Saints were quite easily sussed by a somewhat substandard Brighton side.
Steven Davis put Saints one goal up in the opening seven minutes of the game, with his second of the season. James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick crashed off the woodwork, and Davis was quickest to react in the box.
However, just after the interval, Glenn Murray peeled away to the back post to target the significantly smaller Cedric Soares, before heading the ball to Fraser Forster’s right. The Saints goalkeeper simply had to get across quicker.
It was a match of few chances, and both teams came away with the honours even.
Here are our player ratings from what was a simply poor display from Saints.
Fraser Forster - 3
Literally had one save to make and made a total mess of it. Is a 3/10 harsh? I’m not sure. He’s lacking confidence, which is understandable, but he’s making mistake after mistake and is costing us points.
Cedric Soares - 5
Struggled at times with Jose Izquierdo on the wing. Wasn’t his usual effervescent self.
Virgil van Dijk - 6
Van Dijk put his body on the line on a few occasions and read the game considerably well. Still looked off the pace, with a few loose balls.
Wesley Hoedt - 6
Hoedt worked hard. He came out from the back to win a few headers, and looked to progress the play. He was booked for a moment of frustration, and was one of very few who looked up for it. Still, room for improvement for Hoedt.
Ryan Bertrand - 5
Bertrand struggled in the first half. He looked far too relaxed, and somewhat lazy, failing to notice that Anthony Knockaert continuously found space out wide. He marginally improved in the second half.
Oriol Romeu - 6
Worked hard and tried to keep things moving in the middle, but failed to really get to grips with the game. One of the better performers.
Steven Davis - 6
Reacted very well to the rebounded free-kick and scored a rare goal. However, he did little else of note aside from this, and was a passenger in large parts. He’s not a defensive midfielder.
James Ward-Prowse - 4
I’ve just about managed to justify giving Ward-Prowse a 4/10 because but for his desperately unlucky free-kick, we’d have suffered an embarrassing loss.
However, he was terrible. So it’s a 4/10. Gave the ball away, was sloppy in the middle, negative in possession, and looked lost.
Dusan Tadic - 5
Not at all great from Tadic, once again. Couldn’t get into the game and was ineffective.
Sofiane Boufal - 5
Like Tadic, he was a passenger. Glimpses of quality were there to see, and he looked to carry the ball, but failed to really influence proceedings. Needs a run of games.
Manolo Gabbiadini - 6
Gabbiadini deserves better than this. He worked relentlessly hard all afternoon, pressing high up the pitch and holding the ball up well, drawing fouls and looking to be industrious. However, surprise surprise, he looked back and all of his teammates were miles away.
I feel desperately sorry for Gabbiadini; a quality striker starved of service.
Substitutes
Nathan Redmond – 5 – Did nothing of note. Was a little bit of a pointless substitution, with him taking the place of Boufal.
Shane Long – 5 – Did nothing. Just ran around and offered little.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6 – Made a good run forward in the late stages, which was promising. However, gave the ball away cheaply at times. He’s probably rusty given that this was his first appearance of the season.
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