England striker Jay Rodriguez
made his return in a 2-2 away draw against Newcastle, as Southampton sought to
build on the good foundations they laid down in last season’s impressive 7th
place finish. An opening goal from striker Graziano Pelle after 24 minutes will
have filled Saints fans with hope, but it was short lived as goals from Papiss
Cisse and Georginio Wijnaldum gave the Magpies a lead early in the second half.
Rodriguez’s replacement, Shane Long, grabbed a late equaliser for Southampton
after 79 minutes which will give the travelling fans something to cling onto.
Southampton’s defence leaked a further three goals as they disappointed the St Mary’s crowd in their second game of the season, trundling to a 3-0 home loss to Everton. Saints may want to rethink their tactics in a few areas, having conceded their first goal in a counter-attack after throwing too many men forward for a corner. Despite monopolising possession in the first half, they went into the break 2-0 down. The home side created very few chances in the game with Saido Mane’s first half strike being the closest they came in what was simply a lacklustre Saints performance.
Without Morgan Schneiderlin
patrolling the area in front of the back four, Southampton’s defence has been
left exposed, which has been taken advantage of in their opening two games this
season. Koeman may want to dip back into the transfer market for a defensive
midfielder to add a little protection, otherwise Saints may experience a
relatively underwhelming season.
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