Ralph Hasenhuttl’s teams are commonly renowned for their desire to progress the ball quickly, suffocate opponents with intense pressing movements, and overcrowd them high up the pitch.
He had his first full pre-season at Southampton in the summer after taking charge in December, and the hallmarks of a typical team of his appear to be becoming increasingly prevalent.
Hasenhuttl has instructed his side to play long balls into advanced areas in the hope that, should either Danny Ings or Che Adams fail to win the aerial duel, the second ball will be seen as a trigger for surrounding Southampton players to intensely press, or gegenpress, as this mechanism is known.
This was a trait of his RB Leipzig side, particularly in the 2016/17 season campaign, as the likes of Timo Werner, Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg and others looked to profit from disorganisation and flat-footedness from opposition defenders upon the turnover of possession.
Hasenhuttl worked with players of far higher quality at Leipzig than he currently has at Southampton; that much is certain. However, as time progresses, it is becoming evident that his fingerprints are all over this Saints side, as portrayed by yet another telling statistic.
According to data collected by Ashwin Raman for Football Whispers, Southampton have the second-shortest possession chain in the Premier League, with only Burnley holding onto the ball for a shorter period of time in the opening four matches of the season.
Twitter: Again, early in the season, but Norwich are clearly a fun side, and their tendencies in possession are a bit like t… https://t.co/7pSMJ7pYtO (@AshwinRaman_)
Southampton, as per the above figures, have a propensity to distribute the ball – or, rather, surrender a turnover – after having possession for an average of seven seconds. This is a statistic that falls in line with the 220 long passes – just 10 less than Burnley, who have played the most – that have been attempted by Saints this term, with a 50.5% success rate, lower only than Arsenal.
Hasenhuttl’s teams typically try to play the ball forward early as there is a higher chance of the opposition’s defensive structure being in an already-disorganised shape, ensuring that even if possession is lost with a more risky ball forward, the gegenpress can be initiated.
Hasenhuttl is from the same school of thought as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who is a believer that in modern football, the best playmaker is gegenpressing, and not a number 10.
Southampton have looked rather lacklustre in the final third this season, but it has been more a tale of the cogs within the system failing to function than the system itself.
Fine margins and individual errors have cost Saints an impressive start to the campaign, but there should be no real reason to panic. The above statistics, while open for interpretation and able to be manipulated both positively and negatively, reflect that Hasenhuttl’s style is being understood and put into practice by the Southampton players.
