da casino： Ralph Hasenhuttl will have been disappointed with Southampton’s 3-1 defeat against West Ham.
da esoccer bet： Despite dominating possession – they had the ball for 67% of the match – they were unable to cause the Hammers any real problems, only managing two shots on target. David Moyes’ team, meanwhile, had 14 shots, seven of which troubled Alex McCarthy between the sticks.
The Austrian will have been hoping for more from some of his players, and Jack Stephens will have been high up on the list of players he will have been unhappy with. With a 5.8 SofaScore rating, he was the joint-worst player on the pitch.
The £6.3m-valued 26-year-old – as per Transfermarkt – just didn’t provide the Saints with the protection they needed at the London Stadium. He did make four clearances but managed just one tackle, whilst he won just one of his two ground duels.
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In the air, he came off even worse, failing to win a single one of his aerial battles. He also managed a pass accuracy of just 72% despite the Saints having most of the ball.
After a difficult start to the campaign – they were in the relegation zone as late as November, and were beaten 9-0 by Leicester as well – they have turned it around and are now 13th, seven points clear of the bottom three.
However, their change in fortunes should not paper over the cracks that have been on show. The St. Mary’s Stadium outfit have conceded 51 goals in the top tier this term – only one side has shipped more.
Clearly, there are problems in defence, and this display from Stephens illustrates exactly where Hasenhuttl needs reinforcements.
They were linked with several centre-backs during the January transfer window, including Mohammed Salisu and Jean-Clair Todibo, but in the end no new faces were brought in that position. Whether those two are pursued once more in the summer, or new targets emerge, it is clear that Southampton could do with another defender at the heart of the back four, especially if they want to continue to show signs of progress.
Elsewhere, Southampton fans show support for this under-fire player.