After an electric start, the march towards Europe has lost some charge, but Saints should still dream: Southampton half-season review

After 19 games played in the Premier League and 29 points recorded, Southampton surprisingly find themselves sat in the bottom half of the table.

A magnificent opening dozen games deservedly put them in contention for a top-six finish, however, their push for Europe has lost some steam.

They’re still on course for a strong finish; the south coast side has only recorded more than 29 points after 19 Premier League games once. However, an underwhelming Christmas period and an inconsistent start to the new year has overshadowed some breath-taking, scintillating football from Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.

Five key games

Southampton 2-5 Tottenham Hotspur

Having lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace on the opening day and being dumped out of the League Cup earlier in the week at home to Championship side Brentford, Southampton hosted a Tottenham side already a month into their campaign due to Europa League qualifying commitments. 

Spurs had also been the wrong side of a 1-0 defeat the weekend prior, losing at home to Everton, but the previous week’s misfortunes were forgotten on the south coast.

It had been a bright first half for the hosts. Danny Ings opened his account for the season with a trademark finish, Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo had their own respective sniffs at goal and Hasenhuttl’s high-pressing, attacking philosophy was in full-flow.

Conceding late on in the half to Heung-Min Son proved a setback…but what was to come was a massacre. 

Jose Mourinho’s side went on to score four goals in the second half, ripping apart Hasenhuttl’s team, as well as the Austrian’s plans for setting up with a high-line at the back. Son scored a hattrick, Harry Kane scored not one but two customary goals at St.Mary’s. 

Ings scored a penalty which almost seemed to be awarded through pity and Southampton begun their league campaign with zero points, two goals scored and six conceded. Bleak. However, they wouldn’t taste defeat again for 71 days.

Chelsea 3-3 Southampton

After two defeats from two, Southampton went on to win their next league encounters with Burnley and West Brom respectively, keeping clean sheets in both. Their next test certainly looked to be a defeat on paper.

After 42 minutes, the script was going to plan. Timo Werner’s opening Premier League goals exposed the Southampton defence, which had seen Jannik Vestergaard introduced a few weeks prior at Burnley, to the scepticism of some Saints fans. The Dane, nor any of his teammates in white defended well at Stamford Bridge. At the other end of the pitch though, the 6’7’’ colossus and his fellow visitors were menacing. That afternoon in West London identified numerous key cogs in Hasenhuttl’s masterplan and foreshadowed how vital they would prove to be over the weeks to come. 

Adams and Ings linked up superbly, particularly for the first goal. The former looted the pockets of Kai Havertz and played an exquisite through ball to the latter, who rounded Kepa Arrizabalaga and tapped home his fourth goal of the season just before halftime. A perfect example of a perfect Hasenhuttl goal.

Adams opened his account for the season early into the second half, taking full advantage of a series of errors between Kurt Zouma and Arrizabalaga, equalising for the visitors who looked down and out just before half-time.

A well-worked Chelsea goal, finished off by Havertz, saw Frank Lampard’s side re-take the lead. However, a stoppage-time equaliser from Vestergaard was one of many goals from set-pieces that Saints have scored this season. 

Aston Villa 3-4 Southampton

Despite what the scoreline suggests, Southampton’s trip to Villa Park was one of their most impressive outings so far this term and highlighted how threatening they are from set-pieces.

Vestergaard towered above the Villa defence to head past Martinez and give the visitors the lead which was then followed by two moments of genius from James Ward-Prowse.

On his 26th birthday, the skipper scored two direct free-kicks, each as marvellous as the other. Casting a spell with his wand of a right-foot, the first was further from goal, just outside the ‘D’, and curled into the top left corner. 

The Englishman’s second was arguably trickier to conjure up, being closer to goal. However, the dip over the wall and into the back of the net was sublime.

Ings added a fourth to the south coast side’s lead with another sumptuous finish, arguably the 28-year-old’s best in a Southampton shirt. 

A dominant performance was then dampened as Tyrone Mings, Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish scored avoidable goals to reduce the deficit. Take nothing away from Southampton though, it was a massive statement and Hasenhuttl’s men were sitting pretty in the top-four.

Southampton 2-0 Newcastle

A week after the Villa triumph and Southampton had a Friday night affair with Newcastle United. Given that it was the first game of the weekend, Saints had the opportunity to go top of the Premier League for the first time ever with a win.

The Magpies were unbeaten away from home at this point but provided minimal threat as the hosts cruised to a comfortable victory, one that should’ve probably been more comfortable.

Ings had picked up a knee injury at Villa Park and so it was the first outing with Adams and Theo Walcott being the strike partnership; it got off to the perfect start.

Adams had forced an acrobatic save from Karl Darlow seconds before the 24-year-old opened the scoring. Kyle Walker-Peters and Walcott combined well to win the ball high up the pitch from Miguel Almiron, with the latter directing a cross towards his strike partner who bundled the ball into the back of the net with a fierce, precise finish.

Hasenhuttl’s men should’ve scored more on the night, which started to look nervy for the hosts. However, Stuart Armstrong’s late goal made sure of the three points and that Saints would climb to the summit of the Premier League table for at least several hours.

Southampton 1-0 Liverpool

Arguably Southampton’s most impressive result of the season so far, in their opening game of 2021 the Saints handed the reigning champions, Liverpool, just their second defeat of the season at St.Mary’s.

After what had been a rather lacklustre run in and around Christmas, which saw Hasenhuttl’s side fire blanks in three consecutive games against Manchester City, Fulham and West Ham (albeit they only conceded once in this period), Saints got back on track with a miraculous result.

On a night where Liverpool’s vicious front-three struggled, particularly Roberto Firminio, it was the Brazilian’s former understudy who scored the sole goal of the evening in Ings.

Having returned from injury the game prior, Ings produced a precise lob into the back of the net on the half-volley after Ward-Prowse found his fellow England international in space from a free-kick.

Substitutes Nathan Tella and Yan Valery had their own chances to add to the scoreline, however, the performance will be remembered for the defensive aspect as opposed to the offensive.

The Reds hardly had a sniff. Deputy ‘keeper Fraser Forster kept a clean sheet in his game at St.Mary’s for over three years as did the back-four of Ryan Bertrand, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek and Walker-Peters who continued their impressive Christmas run of clean sheets.

Hasenhuttl’s tears of pride at the full-time whistle were ridiculed by some in the contest’s aftermath. However, they symbolised the grit and determination from those involved with the football club over the previous year or so that had gotten them into a position where they were on the winning side of a 1-0 scoreline against a side as star-studded as Liverpool.

Star players

Granted, there have been a handful of top performers who have been consistently reliable for Hasenhutll. Despite this, some have stronger cases than their counterparts.

Ward-Prowse has made a tremendously strong case for being voted player of the season come May. The midfielder hasn’t missed a minute of action in all competitions for Southampton this term and has been a vital presence in the middle of the park. We’ve known about his world-class armoury of free-kicks for a while now, but his work on and off of the ball in open play has come on leaps and bounds.

Now an aggressive, robust, complete midfielder, the 26-year-old has earned regular call-ups to Gareth Southgate’s England squad and you wouldn’t put it past him to have a place in the Euros squad this summer. Four goals and five assists in 19 league games, it’s been an impressive first half for the Englishman.

Fellow countryman Walker-Peters has also been immense. After an impressive loan spell from Tottenham, the 23-year-old right-back made his move to the south coast permanent as the clubs agreed a £12m deal. Since then, he’s boosted his claim for an England call-up, becoming one of an array of talented English full-backs. The former-Lilywhite has contributed to eight clean sheets and hasn’t shied away from a burst forward into the opposition’s 18-yard box. Simply put, Walker-Peters has been thoroughly impressive.

The third player who I believe deserves an in-depth mention is Vestergaard. Going into the season still out of favour with the fans, the Dane replaced Jack Stephens in the third league game at Burnley and hasn’t looked back since. A key presence, not just at the back,  but offensively too with his defence-splitting, long-range passes proving a key weapon. The 28-year-old has also been a major threat from set-pieces, scoring three headed goals this season. 

Unfortunately, the defender has been out of action since mid-December and his absence has been a blow, more so in the final third. Since his injury, Saints have recorded three Premier League clean sheets but have scored just twice, neither goals from open play. His return is imminent, vital for the second half of the season if Hasenhuttl and his men are serious about achieving a European spot.

Obviously, Ings has to be mentioned. It’s been a tricky season compared to last campaign. With two injuries and a positive COVID-19 test, the striker hasn’t looked as sharp as he can, yet still has seven goals in 14 league appearances, averaging a goal every two games. 

Strike partner Adams has also impressed, proving a menace for defenders to deal with and has four goals to his name thus far. Walcott has also done well in spells since re-joining the club for whom he made his competitive debut on loan. Bednarek has been a significant presence at the back and Alex McCarthy has impressed in between the sticks with seven clean sheets, the joint-fourth best tally in the division. 

Stuart Armstrong has also been fantastic. Three goals, two assists and some exquisite passing. The Scotsman is absolute dynamite at times, particularly when deployed on the right flank.

Underperforming players

Southampton’s first-choice starting lineup is impressive, very impressive. Unfortunately, a thin squad and significant lack of squad depth has been exploited this season, particularly over the festive period with injuries to key players piling up. 

Nathan Redmond has had a difficult season, with injuries holding the winger back from expressing the talent that he’s capable of. The same applies to Moussa Djenepo who has blown hot and cold this campaign and can’t seem to go longer than three or four games without picking up an injury.

Shane Long has made the odd appearance off of the bench but is yet to make any sort of impact when introduced to the fold. Valery has also emphasised the fact that full-back is arguably the area that needs the most improvement in terms of depth.

What’s next?

Southampton face a vital run in the Premier League over the next month or so. With home games against Aston Villa and Wolves either side of trips to Manchester United and Newcastle, the Saints have an opportunity to return to form as they look to establish a place in the top half from which they can progress further. 

Outside of the league, an FA Cup fifth-round tie at Wolves has attracted plenty of excitement. However, there are opportunities in the near future to pick up points in the league, and Southampton can’t squander those opportunities if they are to knock on the door of Europe come May.

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