Southampton
produced a clinical, if not thrilling display to see off Swansea at St Mary’s.
New boy Virgil van Dijk got the hosts off to a positive start with a headed
effort in the first half, before a Ki Sung-yeung own goal and a Sadio Mané
strike confirmed a home victory. Gylfi Sigurðsson pulled one back from the spot,
but it was a case of too little, too late for the visitors.
After last weekend’s frustrating defeat to
Manchester United, Ronald Koeman elected to make a couple of changes to his
starting line-up. The returning Ryan Bertrand came in for Matt Targett, while
Oriol Romeu made way for Steven Davis. Garry Monk also made a switch in
personnel, and in shape. Jefferson Montero was on the bench, signifying that Ki
came into the Swans midfield, and that the visitors would adopt a 4-3-2-1
formation, with Sigurðsson and André Ayew supporting Bafétimbi Gomis.
Evidently, Garry Monk wished his side to make
sure they saw plenty of the ball with the addition of an extra central
midfielder, and his engine room was working to good effect in the early stages –
highlighted by a Jonjo Shelvey piledriver that Maarten Stekelenburg could only
palm to Ki, but the South Korean international sent his shot sailing over the
bar. That minor scare pushed Southampton into action though. A Graziano Pellè
slipped through-ball deflected off a Swansea leg to Mané, but on the turn, the
forward pulled his effort just wide of the post. Saints were to find the
breakthrough moments later though. James Ward-Prowse whipped a corner to the
near post, and Van Dijk rose to nod
past Fabiański in the Swansea goal. After that, Southampton started to establish
themselves in the game, with Victor Wanyama and Ward-Prowse pulling the strings
in the deep midfield position, while Davis brought a good balance to the team
in a more offensive role. On the left, the returning Bertrand was combining
well with Dušan Tadić, as the duo perturbed Kyle Naughton, who was exposed as the visitors were employing
a narrow formation. Swansea were occasionally finding space just outside the
Saints box though, and Ki fired a low shot from 20 yards that Stekelenburg
parried away unconvincingly, before José Fonte scrambled the ball away. Meanwhile,
a couple of individual battles were emerging on the pitch. Wanyama and Ayew
were repeatedly at each other’s heels, while Neil Taylor and Mané were also
becoming acquainted down the Saints’ right wing – none of this was malicious
though. Southampton continued to see lots of the ball, but neither team could
carve out any further opportunities before the break.
At half-time, Monk clearly felt that his
formation switch had not gone to plan, with former Saint Jack Cork withdrawn
for the tricky winger Montero, while Éder replaced the ineffective Gomis. These
changes were not to reap immediate benefits though, and it was Southampton who
found a second goal in the 54th minute. The visitors’ right side was
attacked once more, as Pellè clipped a beautiful ball into the onrushing Tadić
who sprinted into the box – the Serbian attempted to find Mané at the back
post, however his cross deflected off Ki
and looped over the helpless Fabiański. Saints showed no mercy after their
piece of good fortune though, as they extended their lead on the 60 minute
mark. Bertrand made an incisive run down the left wing before passing the ball
to Pellè on the edge of the box. The Italian scuffed his shot, but the ball was
blocked by Ashley Williams out to Mané who
exhibited composure to slot it into the bottom corner. After putting in another
excellent display with some impressive link-up play, Pellè nearly got in on the
act as well. The big striker thumped a header towards goal after a corner came
in from the right, but Fabiański got across to tip the ball away to safety. The
visitors then looked to get themselves on the scoresheet after retaining
possession well, with Shelvey shooting low from the edge of the box, but Fonte
was able to block well. It was a much improved performance from the Saints
skipper as he led the team well from the back, while it seems that the
foundations are being built for an excellent partnership with Van Dijk.
Unfortunately, the Portuguese conceded a penalty in the final ten minutes.
Taylor jinked his way into the box before being caught by the centre-back, with
referee Roger East having no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Sigurðsson stepped up to calmly put the
ball down the centre, and into the back of the net. Southampton were to endure
a fright after that, after a flowing move from the visitors resulted in Ayew
heading a cross goalbound, yet Stekelenburg was well placed to comfortably
catch the ball. The one remaining piece of goalmouth action was to come from
the Saints attack though. Pellè showed great awareness once more as he sent Juanmi
into the area with a lovely chip, but when the substitute found the Italian
again with a low pass, he could only scoop his shot high into the Chapel.
Little did it matter though, as Southampton put in an astute performance to
make them worthy victors.
Man
of the Match
Virgil
van Dijk: The
Dutchman put in another accomplished performance, underlining what has been a
rapid acclimatisation to the Premier League for the centre-back. Not only did
he do well to attack and then steer the ball home with his first goal for the
club, he cut a calm figure at the back while showing a real understanding with
Fonte. Much has been made of the centre-back’s ability to saunter forward from
the back to support the attack, yet his defensive nous has been a highlight in
his early performances for the club.
Teams
and Ratings
Southampton
Stekelenburg 6 – Soares 6, Fonte (C) 7, Van
Dijk 8, Bertrand 7 – Wanyama 6, Ward-Prowse 7 – Mané 7 (Juanmi 86’ N/A), S.
Davis 6 (Romeu 63’ 5), Tadić 7 (Rodriguez 74’ 5) – Pellè 7
Goals: Van Dijk (11’), Ki O.G. (54’), Mané
(61’)
Bookings: Romeu, Fonte
Swansea
Fabiański 6 – Naughton 5, Fernández 5,
Williams (C) 6, Taylor 6 – Ki 6, Shelvey 6 (Britton 80’ N/A), Cork 6 (Montero
45’ 6) – Ayew 5, Sigurðsson 6 – Gomis 5 (Éder 45’ 6)
Goals: Sigurðsson pen. (83’)
Bookings: Shelvey
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