Taking Southampton North!

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In the good side of that Celtic result, there's a chance to send Barcelona packing home. Thanks to the antimadridistas and Xavi Hernández I've come to hate Barcelona even when they played so pretty during Pep's first season.
 
Death Ball said:
In the good side of that Celtic result, there's a chance to send Barcelona packing home. Thanks to the antimadridistas and Xavi Hernández I've come to hate Barcelona even when they played so pretty during Pep's first season.
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That's true, but it's still likely to be a straight shoot between Celtic and ourselves for second. Unless they beat us again, in which case they may top the group whilst we will be back in the Europa League!
 

Capital One Cup - Fourth Round - Derby County (Home)


A young side takes the field against Derby today - not as young as the last League Cup side though. Derby held us to a draw a couple of weeks ago in the League, hopefully we can knock them out of the Cup in revenge.

Thorne escaped unmarked as Brady launched a free kick from halfway into the box in the 2nd minute, but Forster was alert and made the save.

The rest of the first half was boring though, and we went into the break all square.

Milik and De Paul replaced Sindelar and Pjaca in the 68th minute.

Tadic was replaced by Prins in the 78th minute.

In the 86th minute Prins gave the ball away in the opposition half, then won it back and released De Paul down the left. The Argentine put a cross into the 6 yard box, and Milik got on the end of it to finally open the scoring and even more finally, break his goal drought!

We edged a very boring game in the end, which was a fair result, going by the match stats. The three subs combined for our late winner. Apparently Derby are a popular team because the referee was apparently favouring them this time too :P


POM: Moritz Gitschier (8.7, 0G, 0A)
 
Asensio places third in Player of the Month. Nwokolo, a youngster out on loan, receives the League 2 Young Player of the Month, whilst Jacobsen gets his third consecutive third place for Aberdeen.



The Capital One Cup Quarter Final gives us a match we should be winning, but Chelsea and Man City also have easy draws, and West Ham, a top 8 EPL side, should also progress to the semis.

 

English Premier League - Game 10 - Everton FC (Home)


After beating Everton both home and away in my first season, we’ve lost twice and drawn twice against them in the two subsequent seasons. Hopefully today we can end that poor streak. Everton are challenging for Europe once more though, and it’s not going to be easy. A win would see us stay in touch with the top 3.

In just the second minute Vietto slipped a brilliant ball through for Ward-Prowse, who lifted it past KSG to open the scoring!

Funes Mori produced a vital block on Vietto after Chambers picked him out with a cross and he turned and shot.

Some sublime intricate passing around the area saw De Paul one touch the ball through for Asensio, but he fired the wrong side of the post! I thought it was in!

In the 37th minute a corner was cleared to Clasie, who stepped forward and had a crack from 25 yards. It was a great strike, but KSG’s fingertip save turned it wide.

From the resultant corner Laporte hit the side netting from a sharp angle when the ball was worked back in.

In the 54th minute Clasie’s through ball for Asensio was touched by Galloway, which allowed Vietto to run onto it, but KSG was on top of him and blocked his shot.

Asensio’s 69th minute free kick fell loose in the box after an Everton touch, and Süle belted it into the roof for his first Saints goal!

Two minutes later Laporte’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by Grealish.

Balic and Tadic replaced Wanyama and De Paul seconds afterwards.

Gitschier replaced Asensio in the 84th minute.

A superb performance, as Everton really never came close to scoring. We were dominant for the entire match, and thoroughly deserved to win. Great stuff! We’re in a strong position after 10 matches, which you would have got great odds for after we lost two of our opening three matches 6-1 and 4-0!


POM: Ludwig Augustinsson (8.8, 0G, 0A)
 

UEFA Champions League Group Stage - Game 4 - Celtic (Home)


Celtic are the shock leaders of our group at the halfway stage, but perhaps what’s even more surprising, is that they thoroughly deserve to be. We’ve rotated a fair few players, but it’s still a very strong side. If we lose today, we will almost certainly fail to qualify. Even a draw would leave us on the brink, with Celtic effectively 4 points ahead due to head to head, and us still to play Barcelona again. Milik gets a chance up top after breaking his drought in the League Cup last week.

In the 26th minute Milik put us in front with a comical goal, far worse than Celtic’s winner in the first leg. Grøgaard retrieved the ball in his right corner, and under pressure from Milik, kicked it towards Begovic. It was going out on the full, so Begovic raced across and leapt up to keep it alive. The ball sat in the box with an open net. Milik came in, took a touch, and slammed it home as Begovic tried in vain to get back. It doesn’t matter how you get them - I’ll call that excellent pressing from Milik :P

Ten minutes later Sow equalised though, getting a touch to sneak an Ambrose cross inside the near post from close range.

But two minutes later we were back in front, as Kurzawa’s lovely cross met the excellent run of Milik, who finished with a smooth close range volley. Get in! So good to have him back amongst the goals!

Milik turned creator in the 52nd minute with a great cross for Pjaca, but Begovic denied him at close range.

In the 64th minute it was hat trick time for Milik, who was found by a brilliant first touch pass from Asensio, and he slotted home coolly. So happy for the big guy!

And it was four for the striker in the 71st minute, who volleyed home from a Cedric cross when Ward-Prowse chased down a cleared corner!

Balic and Tadic replaced Ward-Prowse and Asensio following the goal.

Vietto replaced Pjaca in the 76th minute.

Tadic scored our 5th goal two minutes later with a superb half-volley from the edge of the box off a great feed from Vietto.

What a performance! After Celtic made us look average in Scotland just two weeks ago, we made them look downright awful today with an absolute masterclass, spearheaded by Milik. Let’s hope the floodgates are well and truly open for the Polish striker now. We now have the crucial head to head advantage over the Scots, as we gave them a thorough beating, though the group is still balanced on a knife’s edge. 23 shots to 3. They’d conceded 2 goals in the first 3 games, how about 5 in 1?


POM: Arkadiusz Milik (9.8, 4G, 0A)
 
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You're just six points behind Chelsea you can catch them! Good win against Celtic!
 
Great win against Celtic and congrats for the new contract man !
 
You're a fair bit ahead of my Southampton career! Some good wins there, Only the 4 goals for Milik in the Celtic game? ;) Keep it up! And gratz on the new contract as well.
 
Luke4 said:
You're a fair bit ahead of my Southampton career! Some good wins there, Only the 4 goals for Milik in the Celtic game? ;) Keep it up! And gratz on the new contract as well.
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I'm sure you can catch up! Only 4 I'm afraid :P Thanks, hopefully I can make a board request when they offer it to me
 

English Premier League - Game 11 - Fulham FC (Away)


Fulham are dead last, and even on the road, I am expecting a win. Anything less would be a hugely frustrating way to enter the international break. Milik has certainly earned his start up top after his midweek exploits.

It took us 80 seconds. Ward-Prowse fed Milik down the right, and the striker cut inside before shooting. His shot was blocked and ricocheted into the path of Ward-Prowse, who fired home to open the scoring!

In the 12th minute Asensio’s corner bounced through everyone to Milik, who slammed a vicious half volley into the net!

Flowing football in the 32nd minute brought us our third, as Chambers knocked Balic’s switch pass into the path of Ward-Prowse, who rifled home his second!

In the 44th minute Fulham pulled a goal back as Stearman got on the end of a free kick and fired past a helpless Dragowski.

Austin almost made things interesting in the 53rd but this time Dragowski made the vital save.

We raced the other way immediately, and within seconds Milik was celebrating his second of the night, which was a powerful close range header from a Tadic cross.

Iniesta replaced Balic in the 67th minute and went to AMC. Asensio moved to right wing and Ward-Prowse to midfield.

Gitschier replaced Asensio in the 72nd.

In the 79th minute Tadic got on the scoresheet too, with a close range volley from a Chambers cross.

Vietto replaced the outstanding Milik immediately afterwards.

Austin picked up a consolation goal in the 88th after a great ball from Honda.

But what a performance! We were on fire yet again, and Milik proved his performance against Celtic was no fluke by plundering another two goals here. It was annoying to concede two goals, but it doesn’t take away from the lethal attacking football we displayed. Fulham were never in the game.


POM: Arkadiusz Milik (9.4, 2G, 1A)
 

I decided to make the deal permanent, as he costs us peanuts and can make us a profit in a few years.


Injury News...


All the Internationals made it through their matches unscathed, so Iniesta was the one to take the fall. Fortunately it’s minor, but it puts him in doubt for our trip to the Camp Nou, which comes 3 days after our clash with Arsenal.

 

English Premier League - Game 12 - Arsenal FC (Home)


The first of two crunch clashes this week, as we take on Arsenal just 3 days before we head to the Camp Nou to play Barcelona. It’s a strong lineup, with Cahill starting in central defence ahead of Süle, who’s a bit more of a loose cannon. A few key players are a little tired after internationals, but we will need them today. Arsenal have caused us a lot of problems over the last 3 seasons, so a result today would be huge.

Vietto chased down a ball from Asensio in the 22nd minute and cut inside, before curling the ball inches wide.

In the 37th minute we repelled a couple of crosses, but then Cazorla found Alexis straight in front - saved by Dragowski!

In the 41st minute Chambers nutmegged Gibbs as he raced down the right, and fired in a low cross, which Vietto got to and half-volleyed into the top corner!

In the 53rd minute Asensio chipped a ball out for Augustinsson, and when the left back crossed it, he was there to net a close range volley!

Key players Asensio and Ward-Prowse were replaced by Gitschier and Balic in the 69th with an eye on Barcelona.

Pjaca replaced De Paul in the 77th.

Chambers’ stoppage time cross for Vietto probably should have been converted, but he missed it by centimetres.

But it didn’t matter! What a result! Goals either side of halftime from Vietto and Asensio saw us go level on points with the Gunners and Liverpool in second place - we’re sandwiched between the pair in third. Chambers and Augustinsson were the difference with outstanding performances at both ends of the pitch.


POM: Calum Chambers (9.0, 0G, 1A)
 

UEFA Champions League Group Stage - Game 5 - FC Barcelona (Away)


Barcelona will be looking to strengthen their tenuous hold on top spot in our group, and it’s our job to stop them. I’m still frustrated at Wanyama giving up an almost certain win in our home match against them, and the away match will be much harder. We’ve picked a strong team though, and I’d be very satisfied with a draw. Given our recent form, that’s possible if we keep players like Messi, Suarez and Neymar locked up.

Pique scored after a free kick was headed on by Bartra in the 2nd minute, but luckily he was offside.

There was no flag in the 11th minute though, when Pique headed a corner down, and Rakitic half-volleyed into the top corner.

A long free kick from Messi was headed home by Bartra in the 59th minute.

Vietto and Gitschier replaced Milik and Ward-Prowse in the 64th minute. Gitschier and Asensio switched.

Balic replaced Clasie in the 72nd.

Vietto latched onto a Wanyama clearance and went on an incredible run, which was thwarted by an exceptional fingertip save from ter Stegen.

As we pushed forwards we were hit on the counter, and Costa slotted home in the 80th minute. A lovely finish, to be fair.

A disappointing result, as we basically fell to Barcelona’s set pieces, which we couldn’t handle. The late goal doesn’t bother me too much, as we were overloading at the time. Still, it was never going to be easy against the Catalans, and we were mostly solid enough in open play. Our good run comes to an end, but hopefully we can bounce back on the weekend against Spurs. Celtic were held by Spartak, so if we beat the Russians we will go through, provided the Scots don’t pull off an upset against Barca.


POM: Douglas Costa (FC Barcelona - 9.0, 1G, 0A)

Best Southampton Player: Niklas Süle (6.9, 0G, 0A)
 
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