Southampton FC Extended Player Ratings: Few impress in dreary night at Aston Villa

With an international break now to stew over a bad result and even worse performance, this week’s edition of extended player ratings are not the most positive. But without further adieu, let’s get into it.

The rules:

Each week we will rewatch the recent game as many times as necessary in order to review every player’s performance.

- Each player will receive a grade on a sliding scale of A+ to F

- It’s important to note that we do not know the specific tactical instructions given to each player so we will attempt to grade with what we can see

- Only players who play more than 20 minutes in each game will receive a grade so late substitutes will almost always get a N/A

- The results each week will be tracked with the overall top performer awarded Player of the Season in May

Jacob Ramsey celebrates his goal on Friday night. Image: PA (Image: Jacob Ramsey celebrates his goal on Friday night. Image: PA)

Gavin Bazunu: C-

Just over a month - and seven games - into Gavin Bazunu’s Saints career, the Irish international is yet to keep a clean sheet for his new side. Much of that has not been Bazunu’s fault with an oft-shakey defence in front of him but the same can not be said of Friday’s performance.

With moments until the half-time whistle, Aston Villa swung in a dangerous-looking corner. The initial headed effort from Ollie Watkins’ was pushed onto the crossbar from Bazunu before Mohammed Salisu’s clearance fell to Jacob Ramsey to smash home. Perhaps it’s slightly harsh considering the tiny margins in play, but Bazunu really needs to be pushing this effort over the bar and bail his side out of a precarious position.

Of course, the goalkeeper wouldn’t even be in this situation if his team reacted quicker to Aston Villa’s short corner routine, implemented with very little hindrance. Still, goalkeepers are judged in the harshest terms and that is what we must do with Bazunu. 

In a game of limited opportunities, Bazunu didn’t have much else to do but his passing also struggled slightly more than in previous games, completing just 60% of his long passes compared to his season average of 69.6%. There will be better days ahead but he needs that first clean sheet to kick-start his season.

Romain Perraud: C-

In his third start of the season, Romain Perraud put in 49 adequate if uninspiring minutes before being replaced by debutant Juan Larios. Larios was brought on to give Saints more quality on the ball as Ralph Hasehuttl’s side searched for an equaliser and that in itself says quite a lot about Perraud’s rather nothing outing.

The left-back completed just seven of 13 passes, zero of one attempted cross and failed in his one attempted dribble. Just one of those completed passes came in Saints’ attacking half and some of Perraud’s play on the ball was representative of his entire team’s egregious attacking display.

Take this for example. Perraud makes a smart run inside between two Aston Villa defenders where Mohamed Salisu finds him with the pass.

Perraud receives the ball from Salisu. Image: Wyscout (Image: Perraud receives the ball from Salisu. Image: Wyscout)

But Perraud struggles to do anything with it, eventually playing a weak right-footed pass in the vague direction of Adam Armstrong before the ball is easily cut out.

Perraud attempts to play the ball over the top for Armstrong but horribly miscues. Image: Wyscout (Image: Perraud attempts to play the ball over the top for Armstrong but horribly miscues. Image: Wyscout)

Perraud provided the energy he always does, but didn't do enough with the ball in dangerous areas. He was replaced by Juan Larios a few minutes at half-time. 

Mohamed Salisu: C

One of a few players who could leave Villa Park with some sort of credit in the bank, Salisu was far from his own personal best on Friday night, but rather decent by the standards of his teammates. 

Up against the physical test of Watkins, Salisu held his own, losing his first aerial battle with the striker before winning the next three. In a defence that got more and more stretched as Saints pursued an equaliser, Salisu was forced to cover huge areas of space, something he largely did well.

Below is a map of all the duals Salisu faced on Friday, with the blue dots the ones he was successful in and the crosses the ones he was not. As you can see the action areas stretch all the way across the pitch.

The placement of Salisu's duels vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout (Image: The placement of Salisu's duels vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout)

Salisu also played a total of 47 passes - 41 successfully - third-most amongst his teammates. Seven of those were long passes, four of them completed. Salisu’s most common passing partner was his goalkeeper - implying something that was rather obvious - Saints needed to be braver and more urgent with the ball.

Armel Bella-Kotchap: B-

Fresh from his maiden call-up to the German national team squad, Bella-Kotchap put in an adequate, if far from brilliant, performance at Villa Park. Typically strong, Bella-Kotchap handled the physical pressure from Watkins well but occasionally was caught out of position when he’d push forward to win the ball high up the pitch, thereby leaving space for Philippe Coutinho to attack in behind. 

It’s hard to blame Bella-Kotchap for that as clearly, it was something Villa sought to exploit having analysed Saints in the build-up to the clash. The former Bochum defender still led his side in touches (82), passes (60), interceptions (5), and clearances (6).

Hasenhuttl described Bella-Kotchap to German publication Kicker as "the most consistent" Saints player this season and this was another solid and promising performance - albeit not perfect. He is still 20-years-old after all.

Kyle Walker-Peters: C-

One of Saints more consistent players so far this season, Walker-Peters tried to help get his side going on Friday but struggled majorly. Walker-Peters was a heavily relied upon outlet for his team, receiving 32 passes - third-most - but he struggled to make his usual impact on the ball. 

Walker-Peters has always been a better carrier of the ball than passer and this was a game where Saints needed to move the ball far quicker. On more than one occasion, Walker-Peters was pushed off the ball and looked at the referee hoping for a free-kick that did not arrive.

Questions also have to be asked about his role in the build-up to Villa's goal but someone else was more at fault for that, which we will get to later on in these extended player ratings.

Ibrahima Diallo: D-

With Romeo Lavia sidelined by the hamstring injury suffered in Saints’ 2-1 win against Chelsea, Diallo started his second consecutive game at the base of Hasenhuttl’s midfield. It did not go well. 

For a deeper analysis on Diallo and the midfield woes in general on Friday, I’ll direct you to this article here. But the crux is pretty simple: Diallo was fairly anonymous off the ball and not nearly brave or decisive enough with it.

The Frenchman played a total of just 14 passes and for context, the lowest number of passes Lavia has reached this season is 24. Frequently he chose the easy option to go back or placed his teammates in difficult situations with passes behind them. 

READ MORE: Lack of midfield bravery costs Sants in defeat to Aston Villa

Perhaps even more worrisome though is that Diallo received just 12 passes. Saints have often tried to build with a direct style of play thus far this season but against a physically dominant opposition in Villa, they were forced to pass out from the back. That should have made Diallo’s role on the ball even more essential and constant, yet he was barely involved. 

He covered his full-backs well on a few occasions but Diallo still just doesn’t seem up to the speed or quality of the Premier League. Joe Aribo replaced him at the break. Time is running out for the 24-year-old.

James Ward-Prowse: D

As with Diallo, a far more extensive analysis of Ward-Prowse’s poor performance can be found here. But on a day when Saints were desperate for some inspiration, any inspiration at all, their captain failed to step up.

More of his 42 passes went to his defenders than to Saints trio of attackers and on more than one occasion he paid the price for hesitating instead of making a quick decision with the ball at his feet.  Ward-Prowse was still heavily involved, racking up 77 touches - second-most amongst his teammates - while seeing two decent shots blocked.

The touch map below shows just how involved Ward-Prowse was but he struggled to make any of that ball count in the attacking areas of the pitch, possibly having to stick slightly deeper to help out Diallo and later Joe Aribo.

Ward-Prowse's touches vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored (Image: Ward-Prowse's touches vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored)

Moi Elyounoussi: D

One of the major mysteries of Friday’s meek defeat was how Elyounoussi lasted 79 minutes. Ineffective is a rather kind term for Elyounoussie’s performance. He huffed and puffed and ran around as he always does, but never looked like making anything happen.

Of Saints’ starters, only Moussa Djenepo and Romain Perraud attempted fewer passes than Elyounoussi while his 60% passing accuracy was better than only Perraud. The Norwegian had some nice touches but never really carried any sort of consistent or significant threat.

Sometimes it appears there’s no real plan when Elyounoussi gets the ball and with space on the counter precious against Steven Gerrard’s deep-sitting side, that proved very wasteful.

Below is one example of that from the first half as he picks up the ball from Diallo with space to drive into...

Elyounoussi picks up the ball with space to drive into. Image: Wyscout (Image: Elyounoussi picks up the ball with space to drive into. Image: Wyscout)

...he has Diallo to his left and space to the right. But instead of using either option, Elyounoussi takes a heavy touch back inside before the ball gets stolen. 

Elyounoussi does nothing with the space and sees the ball stolen. Image: Wyscout (Image: Elyounoussi does nothing with the space and sees the ball stolen. Image: Wyscout)

This is not the first time Elyounoussi has struggled with indecisiveness and it's something that needs improving. Quickly.

Adam Armstrong: D

Continuing in the left wing role that has become his this season, Armstrong struggled desperately in defeat to Aston Villa. As with every individual player on this list, not all of that was due to his failings but regardless of the issues, it did not work for the former Blackburn attacker.

The first problem was actually getting the ball. The Saints passing web below shows just how isolated Armstrong (#9) was, linking up with Perraud on the left side and Elyounoussi occasionally but finding himself virtually entirely cut off from the rest of his team other than that.

Saints' passing web vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout (Image: Saints' passing web vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout)

For another visual representation of Armstrong’s struggles, take a look at his touch map. Put simply, it’s all over the place. Some of that was no doubt due to a brief spell switching sides with Djenepo in the first half but that doesn’t tell the full story.

Armstrong's touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored (Image: Armstrong's touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored)

18 of Armstrong’s 37 touches (48.6%) came in Saints’ defensive half as he tracked very deep to try and pick up the ball. Meanwhile, just six of his 37 touches (16.2%) came in Saints final third.

The second problem was what Armstrong actually did with the ball. He attempted just one cross - his lowest total since the 2-1 win at Leicester - and had just one touch in the penalty box - his lowest total since the 2-2 draw with Leeds.

Armstrong did try to make something happen with four dribbles but he seemed to almost always be travelling alone into lonely areas.

Here is one example of that from the second half. The ball breaks to Armstrong and he immediately takes off…

Armstrong receives the ball and takes off... Image: Wyscout (Image: Armstrong receives the ball and takes off... Image: Wyscout)

…into a crowd of three Aston Villa players where Ashley Young is able to steal the ball. 

Armstrong runs into three Aston Villa defenders and loses the ball. Image: Wyscout (Image: Armstrong runs into three Aston Villa defenders and loses the ball. Image: Wyscout)

Moussa Djenepo: C-

Starting in attack for the first time this season, Friday’s performance from Djenepo left a lot of head-scratching. The image below displays the Saints players' average positioning from the defeat to Aston Villa and Djenepo (#19) stands out for just how deep he was operating.

Saints players average positioning vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout (Image: Saints players average positioning vs Aston Villa. Image: Wyscout)

That’s something that is also clear by his touch map, seen below. 

Djenepo's touches vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored (Image: Coutinho is left with a free header at the back post. Image: Wyscout)

23 of his 39 touches (58.9%) came in Saints defensive half as Djenepo struggled to impact the game in the final third. That said, he showed promise, at least through the opening stages. 

He looked by far the most likely to open up Villa’s defence in the opening quarter of an hour, but took a major step back as his entire team did following a quick start.

However, major questions need to be asked of his awareness and concentration in the build-up to Aston Villa’s goal. As Ashley Young picks up the ball, Walker-Peters moves inside to help pick up a free man in the box.

This should in turn see Djenepo mark Philippe Coutinho coming in from out wide...

Young prepares to pass the ball... Image: Wyscout (Image: Young prepares to pass the ball... Image: Wyscout)

...Djenepo turns his head to spot Coutinho's run...

Djenepo turns to see Coutinho's run... Image: Wyscout (Image: Djenepo turns to see Coutinho's run... Image: Wyscout)

...but he doesn't actually make up the ground and Coutinho has a free header saved by Bazunu. Saints proceeded to concede from the ensuing corner.

Coutinho is left with a free header at the back post. Image: Wyscout (Image: Coutinho is left with a free header at the back post. Image: Wyscout)

Che Adams: C-

Considering Saints rather epic nothingness going forward, it was always going to be a tough game for Adams. Isolated to the extreme, Adams touched the ball just 25 times - least of any Saints starter - and many of those touches came in thoroughly unthreatening areas.

As seen in his touch map below, nine of Adams’ 25 touches came in his defensive half and just two in Aston Villa’s box. 

Adams' touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored (Image: Adams' touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored)

His one shot came from long distance and despite a close call or two, Adams didn’t really look like scoring. He did make a few good runs that could have been different on another day.

Here’s one example as he makes the right run into the box...

Adams makes a run into the space in the box. Image: Wyscout (Image: Adams makes a run into the space in the box. Image: Wyscout)

...before Elyounoussi’s cross is cut out…

...but the cross is cut out before it reaches him. Image: Wyscout (Image: ...but the cross is cut out before it reaches him. Image: Wyscout)

Adams is not a striker who can do it all on his own and this was a game in which he was asked to do exactly that. For Adams to flourish, he needs real and reliable service from the those behind and around him. 

Substitutes:

Juan Larios: C-

Talk about a baptism of fire. Larios came off the bench at half-time of Friday’s defeat to make his Premier League debut. He worked hard and tried to make something happen by driving down the line every chance he could, but ultimately such a physical encounter was always going to be tough for the youngster. 

“It was not the ideal game for him to come in but I hoped to get some footballing qualities from him because on the ball he is a decent player,” Hasenhuttl explained after the defeat.

The Austrian added: “I think it was not the game for a player like him but he was still there and fighting for everything.

“Physically he is not the tallest one and you can see this in some of the aerial duels. But the rest was okay.”

Joe Aribo: C-

 On a strange night with quite a few strange positional quirks, Aribo replaced Diallo at the break and was utilised in a far deeper role than he has usually operated in this season.

His touch map below shows just how involved he was but in tight spaces, Aribo needed to be a little bit calmer and more dependable on the ball. 

Aribo's touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored (Image: Aribo's touch map vs Aston Villa. Image: WhoScored)

Better days are ahead - particularly if played higher up the pitch.

Sekou Mara: N/A

Mara came on for the final 19 minutes and tried to make something happen with one looping header - officially Saints only shot on target - but ultimately the attack was equally blunt with the youngster on the pitch.

Stuart Armstrong: N/A

Armstrong wasn't on the pitch long enough to judged but the Scotsman provided a bit more attacking oomph and displayed why he should probably be starting following the international break.

Samuel Edozie: N/A

Edozie replaced Elyounoussi for the final ten minutes but didn't see enough of the ball to make much of an impact.

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