Southampton forward Shane Long has praised the club’s defenders following the 2-0 win over Aston Villa at the weekend.
Long says that the defenders did well to keep Villa at bay and claim the clean sheet, eventually leading to Stuart Armstrong’s goal in stoppage time.
The Saints defended a corner, leading to Che Adams being able to provide Armstrong with an open goal to slide the ball into.
Speaking to Southampton’s website, Long said:
The three points are massive for us as a team. We had to dig deep and push hard because Villa are a very good side.
Being 1-0 up in the last minute, it’s always a bit risky, but the guys at the back did really well to keep a clean sheet and it was nice for Stu to get the goal at the end.
Southampton dealt with the threat of Villa forward Jack Grealish brilliantly. The Englishman has nine goals and six assists in all competitions this season and is Villa’s highest-rated player on WhoScored in the Premier League. This shows how much of a threat he can be, but Southampton’s defence limited him to very little.
James Ward-Prowse marshalled him down the right for Southampton and did not give him time or space to make anything happen down the flanks. When Grealish drifted inside, Smallbone and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were quick to step out to him and either win the ball back or foul him in order to stop Villa’s attack. Grealish was dispossessed three times against Southampton, which is the joint-most times in a game he’s been dispossessed all season.
This helped to limit Grealish into creating just one chance in the entire game. In his last three Premier League appearances before facing Southampton he had created a combined 14. This shows how well the defence did and how they were able to nullify Villa’s biggest threat – illustrating Long’s point perfectly.
