Back at St Mary's on Saturday for the first time since the landmark 2-1 victory against Chelsea, Saints could not repeat the heroics of that night as Everton triumphed 2-1.
After something of a resurgence towards the end of the summer, Saints are back to battling just to keep themselves afloat. Three consecutive defeats has placed Ralph Hasenhuttl's side in a precarious position, just one point clear of the relegation zone. Although that in itself is not the biggest concern so early into the season.
Once again, Saints were beaten by just one goal but once again, it was far from an inspiring performance. Goalscorer Joe Aribo stood out in a relatively meek display but the light chorus of boos a the full-time whistle said a lot about the rut Saints find themselves in.
But without further adieu, let's get into this edition of the Extended Player Ratings...
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
Gavin Bazunu: D
Eight games into Gavin Bazunu’s Saints career and it’s safe to say that it hasn’t gone to plan just yet. The Irish international remains the only starting goalkeeper in the division who is yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
At just 20 years old and without top-level experience prior to his Saints arrival, Bazunu should understandably be given a lengthy leash as he gets to grips with this new challenge.
That said, his team needs him to improve. And quickly. He hasn’t been helped by those in front of him - continuously conceding easy goals - but Bazunu himself could and maybe should have done better with a raft of recent breaches.
Facing one of the greater challenges of his young career, Bazunu is playing like a goalkeeper lacking in confidence. Everton’s equaliser on Saturday was a picture of that.
Just moments after Saints grabbed the lead through Joe Aribo, the visitors were handed a free-kick 35 yards from goal. Already utilising a deep defensive line, as seen in the image below, Saints need their goalkeeper to help clean up anything that gets beyond the defence.
It is a deep delivery in the end, but after taking one step forward, Bazunu stays rooted in place as Amadou Onana climbs highest to win the header and play it into Conor Coady’s path to tap into the empty net.
Questions also need to be asked of the goalkeeper for Everton’s second goal, Dwight McNeil smashing a volley past Bazunu from a tight angle. It was a venomous hit but any time a goalkeeper is beaten at their near post, it’s going to raise eyebrows.
So early into his Premier League career, Bazunu needs his defence to bail him out from time to time but it’s turning out the other way: his defence needing to be bailed out by Bazunu. Perhaps he just needs that first clean sheet to restore confidence. The bad news is that Saints are next in action against Erling Haaland and Manchester City.
Kyle Walker-Peters: C-
Reverting back to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s trademark 4-2-2-2 formation, Walker-Peters was given a mammoth task on Saturday. The system relies on the two ‘wingers’ coming inside to operate as extra central attackers, leaving the wings to the full-backs.
As such, Walker-Peters was relied upon to provide width to Saints’ rather mundane attack. The full-back was certainly heavily involved, racking up 78 touches, second-most after James Ward-Prowse. Meanwhile, Walker-Peters’ touch map below shows just how involved he was in the attacking third.
Unfortunately, while Walker-Peters provided plenty of enthusiasm and energy, he lacked effectiveness. The 24-year-old completed just three of his seven attempted dribbles and just two of his six attempted crosses.
He was also the defender tasked with marking Coady for the free-kick from which Everton equalised. Walker-Peters lost his marker and Coady stole in to score the vital equaliser. Not the Englishman’s best day.
Duje Caleta-Car: C-
Starting for the first time in a Saints shirt following his deadline day signing from Marseille, Caleta-Car wasn’t perfect but also wasn't at fault for his side’s collapse. It’s not fair to blame the Croatian for this, but the biggest impact of his debut was likely the lack of Mohammed Salisu.
Salisu and Armel Bella-Kotchap have quickly built an impressive partnership, the duo complimenting each other perfectly. Whereas Salisu is better in the ‘firefighter’ role, deeper with the aim of rescuing his fellow defenders, Bella-Kotchap is given the freedom to push up the pitch and engage with attackers.
With Salisu on the bench, the Saints defence was forced into a reshuffle and Bella-Kotchap started playing as the deeper centre-back.
With the ball, Caleta-Car displayed his composure, completing 86% of his passes while managing 74 touches - third-most amongst Saints players. Unfortunately, the relative disorganisation of his entire team left him struggling desperately in the build-up to Everton’s eventual winner.
With Bella-Kotchap tracking Neil Maupay’s run, Caleta-Car is marking the space in the middle of the box as Alex Iwobi gets the ball.
Caleta-Car looks over his shoulder where Onana is making a run into the box but the centre-back doesn’t move, leaving Walker-Peters to take on the runner.
With no pressure on the ball, Iwobi finally crosses towards Onana and Caleta-Car is stranded. The ball runs through to McNeil who finishes superbly to give Everton the advantage.
Caleta-Car did have a chance to be the hero late on but couldn’t direct his volley on target as Saints suffered their third-straight defeat.
Armel Bella-Kotchap: C
Fresh from his debut appearance for Germany, Bella-Kotchap was handed his seventh consecutive Premier League start on Saturday. The centre-back was far from flawless against Everton but it’s also hard to blame him for his side’s demise.
The defender should get his usual partner back in Salisu when Saints are next in action at Manchester City. It will be his biggest test yet on British soil but no doubt one he will be relishing.
Juan Larios: C-
On the one hand, Hasenhuttl deserves credit for his bravery in giving 18-year-old Larios his full Premier League debut on Saturday. But on the other hand, it didn’t look like the Spaniard was ready.
From the first minute, Everton tried to take advantage of the diminutive and inexperienced left-back, sending wave after wave of crosses towards him at the back post. A menace throughout the encounter, Onana frequently could be spotted hanging on Larios’ shoulder, waiting for a cross to attack.
Here’s one example of that from the second minute. As Iwobi prepares to cross, Onana can be seen holding his hand up calling for the ball.
The cross falls right in front of Larios and Onana muscles his way in before failing to make clean contact.
Larios was also slow to close down Iwobi in the build-up to Everton’s second goal, lacking the pressing intensity that is such a necessity in the Premier League.
Larios does, however, deserve credit for his attacking play - particularly in the build-up to the Saints goal as he picked the ball up inside his own half...
....before driving forward and playing it out to Che Adams.
He didn’t stop there though, continuing his run and dragging three Everton players with him to leave Aribo free on the edge of the box.
Larios was replaced by Romain Perraud on the hour mark. He will be afforded more chances but he must sharpen up defensively.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: D-
It’s been a thoroughly difficult start to life at Southampton for the Arsenal loanee. After coming off the bench for his debut at Wolves, Maitland-Niles was left out of the squad entirely for Saints’ trip to Aston Villa.
“We have with Ainsley a lot of work to do also because he has to adapt to our game and this is something that takes time a little bit,” Hasenhuttl said after the 1-0 defeat at Villa Park.
“We see also during the week what we ask him to do and especially in the midfield position it takes a little bit to understand how we want to do it.
“It doesn’t make sense to throw someone in who isn’t ready for what we want to do. When he is ready and on the level we think he has to be then he will help us for sure.”
Following ample time on the training ground over the course of the international break, Hasenhuttl deemed Maitland-Niles ready for Everton’s visit to the South Coast, the Englishman starting alongside James Ward-Prowse in place of Ibrahima Diallo.
It didn’t go particularly well for him. On five separate occasions in the first half he gifted Everton possession inside Saints’ defensive half while also helping the Toffees ignite a dangerous counter-attack that ended with Demarai Gray shooting straight at Bazunu.
The 25-year-old’s performance was full of loose touches and underhit passes while he was also booked in the 7th minute for a rash sliding challenge on Idrissa Gueye.
As his heat map below shows, Maitland-Niles was all over the place but also made very little impact anywhere he went.
With Romeo Lavia still recovering from the hamstring injury suffered at Chelsea, Maitland-Niles could get more chances. He’ll have to be a lot better.
James Ward-Prowse: C-
Alongside Lavia, Ward-Prowse had picked up right where he left off last season, playing consistently excellent football. But much like his entire team, Ward-Prowse’s form has nose-dived in Lavia’s absence.
The midfielder was still heavily involved against Everton, notching a team-high 87 touches and 69 passes while also leading all Saints starters with a 92.8% passing accuracy.
The issue is that Ward-Prowse is now seemingly getting caught between trying to help the team high up the pitch while also having to protect the defence. This is causing him to get lost in the middle too often as the midfield gets overrun.
Not one of Ward-Prowse’s 87 touches came in his side’s attacking penalty area but he’s also not consistently impacting the game on the defensive side. One of many Saints players who needs to improve if they are to get out of this rut.
Joe Aribo: B-
One of few Saints players to leave Saturday’s game with his reputation not only intact but enhanced, Aribo was the attacking spark of his team. 28 of his 56 touches came in Saints’ attacking half as the Nigerian continuously picked up dangerous pockets of space.
It was from one of these intelligent pieces of movement that his big moment arrived four minutes after half-time.
As Adams receives the pass from Larios, Aribo actually slows down his run and in turn, the two Everton defenders go with the more pressing run - Larios'.
By the time the Everton defenders realise where the danger is, Aribo is free to take the ball under his spell and shoot.
Unfortunately, Everton equalised almost immediately but that so very nearly set Aribo up for an even bigger moment.
A loose Toffees' pass sent Aribo running at Everton's defence and he timed his pass to perfection to pick out Adams making a run into the box. But the striker could only hit his effort straight at Pickford before Everton went down the other end to score the winner.
Speaking after the match, Aribo stressed his frustration at the unfulfilling nature of his goal, coming in defeat.
“I’m really happy to score to get my numbers, but without a result, it doesn’t mean anything,” he told the Daily Echo.
“It’s really frustrating for the team and for me that we haven’t got the win today. The boys are really frustrated, we wanted to get a result and to go a goal ahead puts you in a good place to get a result.
“To concede so soon after scoring was really frustrating, and it was a bitter one to take. I think, in football, the games come thick and fast so we can’t dwell on a moment.
“This game is gone and there’s nothing we can do to change it, all we can do is make it right in games to come. The boys need to dust ourselves off, recover and get back onto the training field.”
Stuart Armstrong: C
Handed his first start since the 2-2 draw with Leeds United in August, Armstrong operated on the right side of Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2. Of course, that was just his starting point as he wandered inside and drifted all over the place.
He did complete four of five attempted crosses but other than added rather little to Saints’ attack. Armstrong certainly wasn’t bad by any means but he’s not one to change a game on his own.
Armstrong moved deeper for the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time and he had multiple switches of play to help progress Saints up the pitch and help start potentially dangerous attacking opportunities.
Che Adams: D
A relatively poor grade, but Adams could have been the star man on another day. Such is the life of a striker. Starting alongside Sekou Mara in a front two, Adams was allowed to focus more of his energy on sticking in and around the box and it very nearly led to major rewards.
Early on he was played through on the right side by Mara but could only strike the side-netting from a tight angle.
This miss was hardly egregious but Adams failed with his big moment to change the game in the second half. Level at 1-1, Saints were handed a golden chance to get back in front when Aribo played the ball to Adams free in the box.
But the striker could only smash his effort straight at Pickford. It would prove to be the decisive moment of a very disappointing defeat.
With no marquee striker arrival in the summer, Saints are relying on Adams to score the requisite goals to keep them up this season. He has flashed his ability already, but the miss on Saturday was reminiscent of the final few months of last season when he frequently couldn’t take advantage of big moments. It can’t keep happening.
Sekou Mara: C-
Starting for just the second time this season, Mara displayed his potential in moments but ultimately just was not involved enough in his 60 minutes of action. The pass to Adams above was an excellent piece of link-up play and he attempted to throw his body around.
But he also showed his inexperience, trying to force himself into the game by dropping deeper and deeper which just limited his ability to combine with his strike partner. The touch map below displays the relative randomness of his performance.
Mara was signed to be a long-term project and despite a hugely promising debut against Leeds, he’s understandably not anywhere close to the finished article.
Substitutes:
Adam Armstrong: D
Coming off the bench with Saints chasing the game, Armstrong could have been the hero. In truth, he probably should have been the hero.
Twice he was presented with major opportunities and twice he failed to take them. The first saw Walker-Peters pick Armstrong out in the box but the former Newcastle forward could only bounce his effort into the ground and over the bar.
The second was even more painful as Armstrong took the ball down eight yards from goal and shaped to shoot...
...before taking another touch and eventually firing too close to Pickford who pushed it around the post.
Supplied with real chances, Saints needed their strikers to step up. They didn't and it cost their side a result.
Romain Perraud: C
Replacing Larios for the final 30 minutes, Perraud did what he could to add to Saints’ attacking effort. In total, the Frenchman managed 26 touches of the ball and 20 of those came in Saints’ attacking half.
He completed 17 of 20 passes but only one of three crosses. It would be a surprise if he doesn’t regain his place in the team soon, likely as soon as Saturday.
Samuel Edozie: C
Entering the game in the 67th minute, Edozie provided Saints with some direct running and while he caused Everton consternation, the youngster couldn’t turn that into anything clear-cut.
He needs to work on his decision-making as he can on occasion be seen dribbling when he should pass and vice-versa. With periods of pressure becoming so precious for Saints, Edozie will likely continue as a super-sub until that side of his game improves.
Moi Elyounoussi: N/A
Elyounoussi replaced Stuart Armstrong for the closing minutes of Saints’ defeat but wasn't on for long enough to garner a grade.
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