There was a danger that this was going to be Southampton’s difficult second album, that everyone would arrive here excited to see another thrilling exhibition of attacking football from Ronald Koeman’s side and another 8-0 victory, only to leave disappointed after 90 tone-deaf minutes. The identity of the opposition contributed to those fears. Stoke City seemed perfectly suited to playing the role of spoilsports. All that hope, all that expectation – it was all set up for a scrappy 1-0 win to Stoke thanks to a header from Marc Wilson. It sure is a funny old game.
You know what they say about good sides, though: they find a way to win when they are not at their best and while Southampton occasionally threatened to scale the heights of last Saturday’s humiliation of Sunderland, this latest victory owed as much to their organisation off the ball as it did to their ability on it.
“It is not easy to play against Southampton,” Koeman said. Indeed, this is a multi-layered team: their attack is a thing of beauty when it clicks, as Stoke discovered in the first half, but they also have the best defensive record in the league. It is why Sadio Mané’s goal in the first half was enough to lift Southampton up to second, two points above Manchester City, three behind Chelsea.
How uplifting to see Southampton, so unfancied back in the summer, mixing it with the big boys. They play with the infectious arrogance that makes you wish them well and it was not long before they were attacking with their usual blend of energy, inventiveness and quick thinking. The first chance came in the fourth minute, Mané cutting in from the left and rapping in a low cross-shot that Graziano Pellè, sliding in at the far post, could not convert.
Stoke then posed some questions of their own. They may possess earthier qualities than Southampton but they have some neat footballers and flickered on the break. Peter Crouch fluffed a header from a Steven N’Zonzi cross before Victor Moses went close to scoring one of the solo goals of the season. But his finish at the end of a sashaying run was tame.
Back came Southampton. Pellè fired over from another Mané ball, Dusan Tadic forced Asmir Begovic to tip wide at his near post and Morgan Schneiderlin crashed an effort against the bar after a clever set-piece routine.
Stoke cracked in the 33rd minute. They failed to clear a free-kick and Pellè chested the ball down before firing against the right post. The Southampton fans howled in frustration again, wondering if the ball would ever go in – but Stoke were not out of the woods yet. The rebound fell to Mané and his emphatic finish flew high into the left corner. Apparently this counted as Mané’s first Southampton goal, his strike against Sunderland having been taken off him for reasons that remain unclear. Perhaps we need a Dubious Dubious Goals Panel.
Southampton had their release and they almost doubled their lead shortly after half-time when Pellè headed against the bar. In response, Mark Hughes introduced Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Mame Biram Diouf in an attempt to inject more urgency into Stoke’s attack and suddenly you sensed that Southampton needed the cushion of a second goal.
“It was difficult because we didn’t kill the game,” Koeman said. “We created eight good chances. We know if you didn’t score the second one it is difficult.”
Yet Stoke, unable to stretch Fraser Forster, were flat and their threat had fizzled out long before the final whistle. Diouf almost reached a cross at the far post near the end but that was it. “We’re a little bit disappointed,” Hughes said.
You cannot win 8-0 every week but Southampton deserved the points.
