Where to start with this one? Since November of 2019 all that any commentator manages to regurgitate about the Saints seems to be about ‘that’ nine-nil loss. Well, until now. The last time they were beaten in such fashion was at home to Leicester City’s rampant foxes. The loss of that winter followed Hasenhuttl’s Saints everywhere, and rightly so in some people’s eyes. A loss of such stature should be spoken about: as each game, no matter the outcome, feels better than being harshly battered in front of the faithful at St. Mary’s. From the never-ending mentions of the loss arose a simply fantastic twitter account, with the name ‘has the 9-0 been mentioned’, where the user would very simply tweet ‘yes’ or ‘no’ depending on if the commentators decided to mention THAT game. This account took a hilarious turn last night as the boys from the South were manipulated in such devastating fashion into the same position in which Leicester had put them in just over a year before… The account is now named: ‘Have EITHER of the 9-0’s been mentioned’ (check it if you’re in doubt!) What a hilarious way to shake off the hurt being felt by these fans.
Southampton’s previous fixture came on Saturday evening, where they faced an in-form Aston Villa at St. Mary’s. The game wasn’t to be without controversy and the Saints found themselves denied of a penalty from a situation where the ball most definitely struck full-back Matty Cash’s hand, preventing almost a certain goal. As a neutral for the game, it seemed obvious that this was to be penalised and a spot kick would be awarded for the Saints, yet VAR ignored it. Feeling hard done-by, the Saints plodded on to what felt like was their impending doom. As if by some sort of footballing script, ross Barkley delivered the blow to Southampton and the Saints faced a harder task in the second half. They battled and worked, but to no prevail. It was late on that Danny Ings found the back of the net, again met by controversy. VAR ruling out this time for, would you believe, the corner of his sleeve being offside. This is no VAR debate, but you’ve got to ask: is that clear or obvious? Perhaps the harsh nature of this game on the Saints set them up for what was next.
Tuesday, February 2nd. Manchester United faced Southampton at the Theatre of dreams, or Colosseum of nightmares if you were one of the travelling players. Southampton’s deadline day of the January transfer window saw them bring in Liverpool prospect: Tukumi Minamino on loan. Although he was not to be involved in the match, you’d have thought his arrival may have boosted the squad’s morale…
It didn’t take a fortune teller to predict the victors of the game, especially once Alex Jankewitz gruesomely connected his boot with Scott McTominay’s rectus femoris in a challenge which can only be described as rash. Within 90 seconds the Saints, or rather: sinners, were down to 10 men. Not good. It took united under 20 minutes to seize the initiative and punish the boys from St. Mary’s. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the young English full-back a somewhat unlikely goal scorer… This was most definitely a sign of what was to come. Just minutes later Marcus Rashford (MBE) netted to make it two, and so on…
The big questions for me are: is it bad luck which plagues the Saints? Do they just let their poor form get the better of them? It feels as if a collection of these and a myriad of various factors such as a lack of squad depth make up the reason they lost in such humiliating fashion on two occasions. Once more, it felt as though Southampton were unlucky with decisions, replays showing the penalty given to United late on perhaps shouldn’t have been. Nine-nil. That’s some loss, even for a team that’s experienced it before. As well as this: Jan Bednarek was sent off as a result of the penalty and-although the outcome of the game wouldn’t have been impacted- Southampton could have maintained one of their key players for their upcoming league fixtures, which still are coming thick and fast.
It’s undeniable that this season is like no other. The first to be played without fans in attendance from the beginning. Inevitably, this has impacted the clubs involved and we’ve seen some peculiar outcomes, like Aston Villa’s early thrashing of Liverpool in a game which ended 7-2. Not only have the results been nothing short of mad, but the league table is mind-boggling compared to that of this time last year. It’s tight at the top, and in the middle, but not so much with the bottom 3…
Just weeks ago United found themselves clear at the top of the table, then a few draws and an unexplainable loss to those at the foot of the table saw them drop, and they were ridiculed by rival fans. Yet, now they find themselves equal on points with the modern giants, their city sharers: Manchester City. Liverpool and even Leicester are still in contention, too. A matter of a couple of wins could change it all at the top, especially with Liverpool taking on City at the weekend. It’s all to play for.
As for the Saints, where do they go from here? Well, they have the benefit of hindsight. Last time they were smacked about like this, they bounced back and found their footing. Undoubtedly, they’ll be able to do so once more, and the club should be credited for continuing to believe in their manager, who is essentially doing the best he can… A perfect opportunity awaits them now, their next game comes against an out-of-sorts Newcastle side, and a win could really pile the pressure on Steve Bruce’s job. Keep an eye on that game.
MC 