Here’s our match report from St Mary’s. Bye!
The first half wasn’t up to much, if truth be told. But from the moment the referee blew his whistle and handed Southampton a penalty everything got significantly more interesting. The second half was excellently entertaining. Van Dijk was excellent once again, Tadic took some fine set pieces, and Southampton for all their changes dominated the game and deserved to win it.
Anyway, enough about me. Virgin Val Dijk has just had a quick chat to BT Sport:
The most important thing is it is well deserved. I think we played some good football. Same story as in Milan, but there we didn’t reward ourselves with a win. Today we did. Every corner kick we had, I got pulled a lot. These days it’s part of the game. I told the ref every time, he needs to watch him. Unlucky we didn’t get a penalty, but we won the game so it doesn’t matter any more.
And so did Sam McQueen:
I saw him, some players do it these days, digging up the penalty spot. I went over to try and stop him and he gave me an elbow in the jaw. I felt we were unlucky they didn’t get a red card. It’s fantastic that it’s in our hands. If we win the next two games we’re through.
Elsewhere in Group K tonight, Sparta Prague beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2-0, and host Southampton in their next game in what suddenly seems a first-place play-off.
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Final score: Southampton 2-1 The once-great Internazionale of Milan
They don’t have time to take it! Southampton have turned this around in the second half, and they’ve only gone and won!
90+5 mins: Into stoppage time at the end of stoppage time, and Southampton have a corner.
90+4 mins: Less than a minute to play, and Southampton have another free kick, on the edge of their own half, after D’Ambrosio is punished for pushing Redmond over.
90+2 mins: Halfway through stoppage time, and Southampton have a free kick on the half-way line.
90+1 mins: We’ll have four minutes of stoppage time, and it starts with Miranda and Ward-Prowse being booked for some off-the-ball high-jinks.
90 mins: That looked close. Redmond rolls his man, spins and plays in Austin, who tries to go round the goalkeeper, fails to score and is anyway offside.
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88 mins: A final roll of the dice for Inter, who take Candreva off and bring on Biabiany.
85 mins: Southampton keep the ball well on the right. Davis wins a throw-in, and then Hjobjerg tries to take on Nagatomo, fails, falls over, and is very generously given a free kick.
83 mins: Inter bring on Felipe Melo for Gnoukouri, and then give the ball to Redmond, who runs from his own half to the edge of the area and still manages to produce a fine shot.
82 mins: Eder’s cross from the left is all but gift-wrapped and bow-topped for a big striker to head in, but somehow nobody does.
79 mins: Hmm, dangerous. The ball is carelessly presented to Icardi, in the middle of the Southampton half, and his ferocious low drive is beaten away by Forster.
78 mins: It seems Puel wants to Italy this, playing now with five men in midfield and switching them to protection mode.
77 mins: A substitution for the home side, who take off Tadic and bring on Steven Davis.
74 mins: From the short corner, Tadic swings in a lovely right-footed cross and Redmond’s flicked header flies wide.
73 mins: Southampton want a third. Ward-Prowse’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked, and Ranocchia will have another chance to foul Van Dijk. Before the corner, though, Eder comes on and Medel goes off.
4:23 - There were just four minutes and 23 seconds between both Southampton goals. Turnaround.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 3, 2016
71 mins: The Saints are very much marching in again, the St Mary’s crowd informs me.
GOAL! Southampton 2-1 Inter!
Tadic crosses from the left, low and hard, and it’s deflected by one defender into the knee of another – Nagatomo – and ends up in the net!
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68 mins: Inter are reeling, but Southampton need to make sure they don’t get carried away by their current dominance. The Italians have a good chance to break, but Perisic curls his pass beyond his team-mates and into Forster’s arms.
GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Inter!
Van Dijk equalises! It’s another corner, which is headed into the air, touched back into the centre, loopily half-volleyed by Romeu over Handanovic and into the bar, and rebounds to Van Dijk, whose task is straightforward.
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64 mins: Double oooh! Tadic takes the corner, Van Dijk for once isn’t violently impeded, and his thumping header is well saved.
63 mins: Ooh! Hojbjerg runs from the right, infield and towards the area, cuts back onto his right foot, and then shoots into a defender’s foot.
62 mins: Replays show that post-corner penalty-shout was another nailed-on certainty – the only penalty the referee has so far given is the least penaltyish of them all. Ranocchia, incidentally, is Italian for frog.
59 mins: Southampton make their first change, bringing on Charlie Austin and taking off Jay Rodriguez.
56 mins: Southampton have a corner, Tadic sends it in, and Ranocchia and Van Dijk clash again. The Southampton defender goes over, the crowd howl once more, but the referee does nothing.
55 mins: Inter win a corner, from which Martina manages to clear the ball and take out two opponents simultaneously.
52 mins: Hojbjerg sets himself under a high ball, preparing to bring it down on his chest. Medel stops him, by leaping into his back and flattening him completely. The referee waves his yellow card.
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50 mins: And another! Again from outside the area, again from Ward-Prowse, but this is on target, and forces a fine save from Handanovic.
49 mins: Another shooting chance for Southampton, but Hojbjerg rushes his shot from 25 yards, which flies well over.
48 mins: Rodriguez has the ball, at least until Medel catches his ankle, and then Ranocchia takes out his legs. The referee waves play on.
47 mins: BT Sport report that Candreva was booked for unsportsmanlike behaviour, rather than violent conduct. It seems odd to have spotted the scuffage, but not the elbow.
46 mins: … and have their first shot on target 25 seconds later, a half-volley from Ward-Prowse that was struck with venom, but right down the middle and into Handanovic’s arms.
Peeeeeeep!
46 mins: Southampton get half two under way.
The players are coming back out. Southampton can still win this, but must improve to do so.
None of them would have been more saveable than this one.
3 - Samir Handanovic has saved all three penalties he has faced in the Europa League for Inter Milan. Unstoppable.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 3, 2016
Before the spot kick Candreva slyly, deliberatly and repeatedly scuffed the penalty spot before the kick was taken, and McQueen ran into the area to stop him. Candreva then elbowed him in the face, and should have been booked for ungentlemanly conduct – or whatever you call spot-scuffage – and then sent off for violent conduct.
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A very ordinary half of football is crowned with some extraordinary stoppage time. Inter have done very little but lead; Southampton have had plenty of possession but created little. The penalty award seemed very generous – though they should have had one sooner – but the home side couldn’t make the most of the gift.
Half time: Southampton 0-1 Internazionale
And that’s half time!
Tadic's penalty is saved!
With the last kick of the half, Tadic shoots low to his right – it’s a rubbish penalty, impossible for Handanovic to miss if he goes the right way – and the ball is kicked away!
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And now the players are fighting! There’s all sorts of pushing going on. Hojberg has a hand around his throat. Sam McQueen, having run into the area for little obvious reason, is rewarded with an elbow in the face. The referee takes his time, and then eventually books Candreva.
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Southampton have a penalty!
45+1 mins: Tadic takes it, it’s half-cleared, and as the ball bounces around Perisic accidentally elbows it into the ground. The referee points to the spot!
45+1 mins: There will be one minute of stoppage time. Southampton are going to squeeze a corner into it.
43 mins: The half isn’t so much coming towards its conclusion as dying a miserable death.
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41 mins: Another Southampton corner, and Ranocchia holds Van Dijk again. The crowd bay, but Pawel Gil wasn’t at the pre-season briefing for Premier League referees.
40 mins: Southampton try to hit back. Redmond, popping up on the right for the first time, crosses, the ball is half-cleared, and Romeu’s dangerous-looking shot is deflected wide.
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37 mins: This has got to hurt.
2 - Inter Milan have scored two goals from just two shots on target against Southampton over their last two games against the Saints. Arrow.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 3, 2016
34 mins: Perisic had the first effort, which Martina did well to block, and then Icardi’s first-time half-volley, with his left foot while running away from goal, was excellent, and unstoppable.
GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Internazionale
Icardi puts the visitors ahead, from nowhere. The key clash was between D’Ambrosio and Van Dijk, who both fall on the left of the area – possibly a foul on the defender – the ball’s sent low into the middle, one chance is blocked, and Icardi snaffles the rebound!
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28 mins: For the first 20 minutes the crowd wouldn’t stop singing. The saints were marching all over the place. They are now considerably quieter, which fairly reflects the match.
25 mins: A remarkable little incident, as the ball is played towards Rodriguez in the penalty area. He raises his foot to roughly knee height to control it – which he does – and a moment later Ranocchia diving heads his legs. The referee gives Inter a free kick, which is inexplicable. The Southampton players didn’t look very angry, but that seemed a clear penalty.
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22 mins: Now Southampton attack, and for a fraction of a second it looks like Ward-Prowse will have a chance to shoot from just outside the area. But then he hesitates for an instant, is closed down by about four defenders simultaneously, and the move comes to nought.
20 mins: Southampton win a free kick on the left, Ward-Prowse swings it into the area, Inter clear and they break. Kind of. Momentarily it looks a fabulous opportunity, but they don’t look keen on the whole attacking lark, and Candreva ends it with a weak pass down the right which is intercepted.
17 mins: That said, Perisic just found Icardi in the penalty area, and the striker pulled the ball down and was just about to smash his volley into the back of the net (or not) when Van Dijk nicked the ball away.
15 mins: There’s a long way to go, obviously, but Inter are looking very much like their league position is, if anything, flattering them.
14 mins: Tadic passes to Redmond on the left, and he cuts inside, jinks past Ranocchia a little too easily, and then shanks his shot across goal and wide.
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12 mins: Ward-Prowse tries to play a one-two with Redmond, but the forward is knocked off his stride by Miranda. The referee raises his whistle, sees the ball is running to Rodriguez, waves play on and the shot is low and weak.
10 mins: Moments after I write that, the ball is played to Rodriguez, just inside the box, and he curls a right-footed shot just over the bar.
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8 mins: The home side are dominating possession in these early minutes, with Icardi left to labour alone up front for Inter, but they’re yet to get into their opponents’ area since Rodriguez’s early chance.
5 mins: Ward-Prowse sends in a good corner from the left, Van Dijk is hauled to the ground by his marker, and Handanovic claims it at the second attempt.
4 mins: A close shave for Southampton, as Icardi plays in Banega, who rushes into space on the left of the area and looks all set to spank a low cross-shot in at the far post. But then he cuts inside, can’t decide what to do, bumbles around a bit and is dispossessed.
3 mins: This match has already got ITV’s Leon Mann wearing out his exclamation mark button*.
Huge night! Southampton v Inter!! Fans buzzing! Looking forward to this one... 👍🏽Highlights on @itvfootball later tonight 🤓 pic.twitter.com/T7tZJAseWf
— Leon Mann (@Leon_Mann) November 3, 2016
* He probably doesn’t actually have an exclamation mark button.
1 min: An early half-chance for Jay Rodriguez, who heads Tadic’s cross wide.
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Peeeeeeeep!
1 min: We’re off! Inter get us under way, and immediately boff a long ball crossfield and out of play on the left wing.
Anthems and handshakes have been completed, so there’s nothing standing between us and actual football.
The teams are in the tunnel, Inter wearing their rather snazzy blue-to-lime-green gradated third kit.
Claude Puel speaks to BT Sport:
It’s always difficult because we play against a strong team. They change their trainer but I think it’s not a problem for them because the players are good players. For them, it’s important to know the qualification and this competition, they play just for themselves. It’s a difficult game but a good game to play for my players. We have young players but they learn very well.
It was a big disappointment, the first game against Inter Milan, but it’s important now to stay with a good concentration and do a good play and have of course a good result.
Great news for fans of Southampton who’ve made it to tonight’s game – they all got free totally pointless little flappy flags!
So Southampton have made six changes, and their side looks surprisingly lightweight given the identity of their opponents and the current situation in Group K – they are level with Hapoel Beer-Sheva, who they host in their final game, on four points with Sparta Prague, who they visit next, on six and Inter currently bottom of the pile with three. Still, it’s a strong bench, eh?
Inter have provided this handy formational prediction:
Ecco la nostra formazione per #SouthamptonInter. #ForzaInter!!! 👊⚫️🔵 #UEL pic.twitter.com/HvNaZ5Xs5o
— F.C. Internazionale (@Inter) November 3, 2016
Hello world!
Well then. Claude Puel describes Inter as “a great team with great players” – though their 12th place in Serie A isn’t overwhelmingly impressive – but says that given the Italian side sacked their manager, Frank de Boer, on Tuesday, “it’s difficult for us to prepare for this game because we don’t know what to expect in terms of the profile, the spirit, the system of play”. Funny that, as before the game against Burnley last month Puel said “sometimes it can be difficult to prepare”, while ahead of the EFL Cup tie against Sunderland 10 days later he said “it’s a difficult game to prepare, because you don’t know the Sunderland team”. I think we can conclude that Puel quite frequently finds it difficult to prepare for stuff. Anyway, the team sheets already appear to be in, and the names upon them are thus:
Southampton: Forster, Yoshida, Rodriguez, Tadic, Romeu, Martina, Ward-Prowse, Van Dijk, Redmond, Hojbjerg, McQueen. Subs: Lewis, Clasie, Fonte, Davis, Austin, Boufal, Bertrand.
Internazionale: Handanovic, Icardi, Ranocchia, Medel, Banega, Miranda, Gnoukouri, D’Ambrosio, Perisic, Nagatomo, Candreva. Subs: Carrizo, Melo, Biabiany, Ansaldi, Santon, Eder, Murillo.
Referee: Pawel Gil (Poland).
Pawel Gil is a 40-year-old accountant. He has only taken charge of one previous game involving an English club side: Manchester City’s 1-0 home win against Steaua Bucharest in August, when he didn’t get his book out at any stage.
Simon will be here shortly. In the meantime you can read about why James Ward-Prowse thinks this is such a huge game for the people of Southampton ...
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