Southampton player ratings v Wolves – 3/10 ace in disgraceful display, star shines at 8/10 | OneFootball

Southampton suffered a 2-0 defeat against Wolves in a crucial Premier League game at Molineux.

While the Saints stuck to the philosophy of possession-based football, they were thoroughly outplayed by Wolves with their direct attacking style of football, especially in the second half.

The Saints failed to penetrate the defence and their sterile passing didn’t create enough problems for Wolves who secured their first win of the season.

Russell Martin is now under serious pressure to save his job. Southampton needed a strong performance before the international break, but this was nowhere near acceptable.

Here, Sports View have rated the Southampton players out of 10 for their performances at Molineux.

Aaron Ramsdale – 4

Could he have done better to stop Pablo Sarabia? He wasn’t tested enough in the first half. In the second half, he made a good but comfortable save to deny Joao Gomes. Martin Keown was not happy with his effort for the second goal, as he said – “again, you’re questioning the goalkeeper”. Nearly gifted away a stupid goal as he made a ridiculous pass outside his box.

Jan Bednarek – 6

The best of three centre-backs, he once again played out the most passes, with an enviable 98% accuracy. His long ball distributions were brilliant.

Kyle Walker-Peters – 8

His misplaced header lead to the opening goal with Matheus Cunha seizing on it. He gave a solid defensive performance. He was tidy with passing and played most of the second half, playing on the left-back.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis – 5

He couldn’t guide his header on target in the 39th minute. It was a big opportunity for Southampton to crawl back into the game. While he was fantastic with his long-ball deliveries, overall he was below par.

Jack Stephens – 5

Southampton relied on their possession-based football, and like the other two defenders, he was tidy with his passing. Apart from that, he was pretty flat and replaced at the stroke of the hour mark.

Ryan Manning – 6

He would be disappointed that the goal was not given. It was a great strike, but VAR ruled it out. He made two key passes and one interception in the first half. Replaced at the break.

Mateus Fernandes –  7

He tried his luck from a distance with a free-kick, but it was nowhere close to testing the Wolves goalkeeper. He had two shots blocked during the game and is arguably one of their best performers.

Adam Lallana – 6

As the game progressed, Lallana grew more into the game with his sharp passing and intelligent positioning. At the same time, he was guilty of losing possession a few times. Taken off at the hour mark.

Joe Aribo – 5

He failed to exert his influence in the first half, as he managed only 25 touches. There was not enough forward movement from him. A similar pattern continued in the second half, and he simply chased shadows once Wolves started to press hard.

Adam Armstrong – 6

He made two tackles and won two ground duels, but he is expected to improve his numbers in the attacking department. Zero effort on goal. Zero shot blocked. Zero key passes.

Cameron Archer – 3

In the first half, he made only six passes. He contributed nothing going forward and was missing for most of the game. Modern-day strikers contribute a lot apart from scoring goals. Archer contributed nothing, and it was a catastrophic display from him.

The Southampton bench was furious as they felt that Archer was fouled in the build-up to the second goal, but the referee was not interested.

Substitute

Tyler Dibling (46′ on for Manning) – 6

Yukinari Sugawara (60′ on for Stephens) – 6

Lesley Ugochukwu (60′ on for Lallana) – 6

Ben Brereton Diaz (73′ on for Aribo) – NA

Paul Onuachu (73′ on for Archer) – NA