Suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Everton on Saturday, Southampton were clearly a team of two halves. Struggling to even get themselves going in the first half against the Toffees, Southampton did rebound and make the match an interesting one in the second half.
That said, a loss is still a loss. While some players did perform well in this match for Southampton, quite a few had matches to forget in this one. Taking a look at each Saints player, let’s see just how well each area of the team did this week with a look at the Southampton player ratings.
Player Ratings
Alex McCarthy – 6
Left all but alone on the two Everton goals, Alex McCarthy did well to keep the Everton scoreline at just two. However, thanks to the mediocre back line in front of him, McCarthy will likely struggle to keep many clean sheets during the upcoming season.
Cedric Soares – 6
Almost creating a goal for Danny Ings midway through the first half, Cedric really failed to have much of a presence in this match. While he did earn a yellow card late in the first half, he was exactly average in this match.
Jack Stephens – 4
Just dreadful in defence for most of this match. Jack Stephens struggled to really defend Alex McCarthy from anything as he continually failed to compete in the air during the cross from Everton.
Wesley Hoedt – 3
Committing the foul that led to Everton’s first goal, Wesley Hoedt committed an extremely stupid foul just minutes later to earn himself a yellow card. On the day, Hoedt had a match to forget as he would have certainly struggled to defend the goal from blind penguin in this one.
Ryan Bertrand – 5
Guilty by association in this match, Ryan Bertrand failed to assist in the attack and was also a real mystery in defence. Playing better than the centre-back pairing, Bertrand was still worse than average as the Southampton defence struggled as a whole during this match.
Oriol Romeu – 6
Much like last week’s draw against Burnley, Oriol Romeu was really hidden in this match. While he did make an extremely rough tackle on Richarlison in the first half, Romeu was really just along for the ride in this one.
Mario Lemina – 5
Lemina was not impressing at all during this match. Struggling as a defender and an attacker, Lemina was quite frankly the wrong choice to play in the midfield for Southampton this match.
James Ward-Prowse – 7
Delivering quite a few good crosses, James Ward-Prowse gave Saints a few scoring opportunities throughout the match. Prowse also came close to tying the score late in the second half, only to see his free-kick be punched away by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford.
Nathan Redmond – 5
Was Nathan Redmond even on the pitch during the first half? If not on the team sheet, nobody would have had any idea that he was playing for Southampton in this one. Getting more involved in the second half, Redmond did try to get a shot on target late but was, for the most part, non-existent in this one.
Charlie Austin – 6
Struggling to have an impact opposite Danny Ings, Charlie Austin was a non-factor during this match. Subbed out midway through the second half, Austin still looks to be getting his feet underneath him two matches into the campaign.
Danny Ings – 7
Getting himself into a good position numerous times during this match, Danny Ings was the most active Saints player at the attacking end. Scoring his first goal as a member of Southampton during the match, Ings also should have scored at least one more based on the quality of chances he received.
Substitutes
Shane Long – 6; Manolo Gabbiadini – 6; Stuart Armstrong – N/A
Main Photo
