Southampton vs Aston Villa: Player ratings, Dean Smith reaction, what note said and Paul Merson analysis
It is now five straight Premier League defeats for Aston Villa after Southampton’s 1-0 win ensured Dean Smith faces an anxious wait to discover whether he’ll still be in charge beyond the international break.
Build-up to the match centred around Smith, and just three minutes in the pressure went up another notch on the Villa boss when Adam Armstrong put the Saints ahead.
Villa have now conceded five goals in the first 15 minutes this Premier League campaign. No other club has done so more than three times, and they were lucky it wasn’t more at St Mary’s.
Such were Villa’s early struggles that a note was even passed around, visible in the 27th minute as Ollie Watkins had a read before captain Tyrone Mings stuffed the paper behind his shinpads.
By this point Anwar El Ghazi – also pictured reading the scrap of paper – had already escaped a second yellow, having twice fouled Tino Livramento but somehow avoiding punishment for the second, arguably worse, challenge.
Villa improved after the break, but no equaliser arrived, and this sorry run comes ahead of the November internationals, allowing the board to potentially contemplate Smith’s position just days after Daily Mail reported the club made informal contact with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca.
“It just seems they’re so low on confidence,” former Villa player Paul Merson said on Sky Sports afterwards.
“I’d like to think Smith wasn’t in trouble. I think the second half was enough, the first half was atrocious. It looked like they didn’t know what they were doing, and that’s worrying, but second half was much better.
“Them players were running around for him in the second half.
I think he needs time. I’m a big fan of Smith. He never usually makes excuses. He’s got five or six players out. Managers sometimes talk about injuries, and they might have one missing, but he’s got big players out. Six players from the academy on the bench, that’s big stuff. For me, keep him in there. Keep the faith.”
Jamie Redknapp added: “They have to be very careful. I look at Dean Smith and it was always going to be hard. They lost their best player in Jack Grealish. For that reason you’ve got to give him time to get Bailey and Buendia playing to a level they can.”
‘Scrapper’ Smith reveals what Villa note said
Smith said he is a “scrapper” as he looked towards the international break to welcome players back from injury, with Danny Ings, Ezri Konsa and Douglas Luiz among the absentees on Friday night.
“I’m a scrapper, disappointed we’ve lost five on the spin,” Smith said. “We’ll get players back during the international break. We’ll work hard with the players there and work hard for Brighton.
“I think you saw what we’re about in the second half. I thought a draw would have been fair. Certainly more of that front-foot energy.
“I said at half-time you have to leave everything out on the pitch and I think they did in the second half.
“I don’t know whether the goal knocked the stuffing out of us. They were better on the ball, we looked anxious and didn’t get our press right. We got that message to the lads.”
Explaining the note, he added: “It was the pressing, the tactical side of the game. We felt they were opening us up too easily on their build-up and I thought we got that right in the second half.”
Key performances
Adam Armstrong 8
After an early tackle highlighted his fondness for hard work despite the goal drought, that near three-month wait ended inside three minutes when a strike flashed past Emiliano Martinez. It was Armstrong’s first goal since 14 August, and was a just reward for his tireless display as attentions turned to defending their lead in the second half.
Emiliano Martinez 8
If it wasn’t for Martinez it could have been worse for Villa, who superbly denied James Ward-Prowse and then did brilliantly to keep out Che Adams’ header. It has been a tough run for Villa defensively, and while Martinez came under fire for the goals conceded against West Ham, he will look to build his confidence back up based on Friday night’s performance despite the fact his side left the south coast empty-handed.
Arguably should have been off before the half-hour mark, twice fouling Livramento but getting a reprieve from Andy Madley. He then went down in the box in an apparent act of simulation, while he also spurned Villa’s best chance of the half. “I can’t believe he’s still on the pitch,” Sky Sports pundit Redknapp said at half-time. “Then he has the audacity to do this, one of the worst dives I’ve ever seen, then getting up like nothing’s happened.” El Ghazi surprisingly stayed on until the 78th minute, having arguably outshone fellow attackers Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia.
James Ward-Prowse 7
A “here’s what you could have had” performance. A summer target for Villa, the Southampton captain would have made it 2-0 in the first half but for a stunning stop from Martinez. Ward-Prowse, named in Gareth Southgate’s squad, continued to threaten with his delivery.
Matty Cash 7
Poland’s newest full-back had a busy opening 45 minutes, winning more duels (7), making more tackles (5) and more interceptions (3) than any other player in the first half – per Squawka – which arguably highlighted the lack of assistance from Leon Bailey as Southampton continued to attack down Villa’s right. A mis-kick late on was Villa’s final chance at levelling, and one Cash will have wished fell onto his right foot rather than his left.
Tino Livramento 7
From one right-back to another, Livramento was namechecked by Southgate on Thursday for having an “excellent start” to the season. The 18-year-old must wait for a first senior England call-up but he is in the U21s squad, and on Friday he outlined why he has the potential to become a full-back contender at international level despite the nation’s strength in depth in this position. He was a bother for El Ghazi all night, and proved his defensive capabilities too with a hard-earned clean sheet.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3k9ufEy
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