Premier League
August 27, 2022 - #SOUvBHA
American Express Community Stadium — Brighton, England
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SOU - 1 / 1 // 2
BHA - 3 / 0 // 3
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Southampton Fails to Draw Late Against Brighton
Fans will be quick to point out that a late offside was the difference between Southampton getting a point and dropping all three at Brighton. However, that would neglect the shambolic defending Southampton showed in the first half. Overall, Southampton fans have a lot to look forward to this season but it won't be a smooth ride during the process.
Things started well for Southampton with Che Adams forcing Robert Sanchez to make a save in the 5th minute. Then Adams followed that up by scoring the first Premier League goal for Southampton this season to give them a 1-0 advantage. Shortly after that James Ward-Prowse almost got Southampton back on the scoresheet from a free kick but was denied by Sanchez at the last minute.
That is when it all started to fall apart for Southampton. The next 30 to 45 minutes were full of defending mistakes on the Southampton backline and midfield. Brighton ran through the line but a last-minute foot from keeper Alex McCarthy kept Brighton off the score sheet in the 15th minute. Brighton was quick to capitalize after Lewis Dunk headed the ball into the back of the net on the ensuing corner to tie up the match. 5 minutes later Brighton would get on the score sheet again after Denis Undav would put in an excellent volley into the back of the net to make it 2-1 for the home side. McCarthy kept out Brighton after some poor defending in the 29th minute but he was unable to keep them out in the 35th minute when Leandro Trossard put in Brighton's third goal of the first half.
Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino seemed to take exception with his team in the halftime talk and they came out and put in a better, but not perfect effort in the second half. Several shots still got on goal but McCarthy managed to keep them out. Southampton finally broke through again in the 87th minute when Kyle Walker-Peters put in a cross that allowed Mousssa Djenepo, who was coming off the bench, to rise above the Brighton defenders and cut the deficit to 1. Walker-Peters wasn't finished yet either, in added time he put in another great cross to Djenepo who appeared to have scored the equalizer but was ruled offside after a VAR check. Neither team was able to make any significant effort and the match finished in favor of Brighton 3-2.
The teams evenly split possession throughout the match but Brighton held a large shot advantage with 15-5 and 10-5 on target. That kind of advantage can be hard to overcome unless you are finishing with surgical precision.
Walker-Peters was named the man of the match after his performance today with an 8.2 rating. This is coming on the heels of his great match shutting down Heung-Min Son against Tottenham. He continues to be a key player for Southampton on both sides of the pitch. Another notable event was Mohamed Elyounoussi being subbed off at halftime after taking a knock in the first half. Elyounoussi provided the assist to Adams in the first half and his replacement Djenepo scored Southampton's second goal. Team doctors are still evaluating the status of Elyounoussi.
Southampton will get a bit of a break before taking on Manchester United on September 10th. Southampton currently sits just above relegation in 17th place on 1 point and Manchester United is in 8th with 5 points.
Match Events
7' - Goal: C. Adams (SOU)
16' - Goal: L. Dunk (BHA)
20' - Goal: D. Undav (BHA)
35' - Goal: L. Trossard (BHA)
36' - Injury: M. Elyounoussi (SOU)
62' - Yellow Card: R. Lavia (SOU)
64' - Yellow Card: L. Trossard (BHA)
87' - Goal: M. Djenepo (SOU)
Man of the Match
RB Kyle Walker-Peters, Southampton: 8.2 rating, 1 assist, 2 key passes, 24-34 passing, 4 interceptions
