Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Southampton - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - September 16, 2022 Aston Villa's John McGinn in action with Southampton's Mohamed Elyounoussi Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Members of the media have criticised midfielder Mohamed Elyounoussi for his display in Southampton‘s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on Friday.
The Lowdown: Saints slump…
The Saints slumped to a defeat away to Steven Gerrard’s side last night with exciting youngster Jacob Ramsey grabbing the only goal of the game just before half time.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were arguably second best for most of the contest and allowed Villa to set their tempo with the home side eventually seeing out a scrappy Premier League victory.
Southampton registered just one shot on target all game and have been criticised for their ‘timid’ approach to proceedings.
The Latest: Media slam Elyounoussi display…
Taking to social media after this contest, journalists Jacob Tanswell (The Athletic) and Joe Prince-Wright (NBC Sports) drew attention to Elyounoussi’s poor display in particular.
The Norwegian was hauled off with just over ten minutes remaining, replaced by summer signing Samuel Edozie, and verdicts from these press members indicate he was poor on the night.
They explained:
Tanswell (via Twitter): “Nice positive play from Juan Larios to drive forward and hold off the much larger threat of Jacob Ramsey, but Elyounoussi is slow to anticipate the pass. He, along with others, needs to do more. Plenty of time to change things, though.”
Prince-Wright (via Twitter): “3 of #SaintsFC‘s more experienced players, James Ward-Prowse, Che Adams and Mohamed Elyounoussi, have all really struggled tonight.”
The Verdict: Off night…
The 28-year-old certainly had an evening to forget going by his numbers courtesy of SofaScore.
Indeed, Elyounoussi finished the match as Southampton’s worst-performing player with a 5.7/10 match rating – taking fewer touches than goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu whilst having little influence.
He also failed to complete a single dribble and lost possession 15 times in total.
If Hasenhuttl is to make something of this campaign, players like Elyounoussi will need to improve before this year’s winter World Cup in Qatar.
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