Paul Merson says Southampton are ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ by persisting with their possession-based approach in the Premier League.
The former Arsenal midfielder urged Russell Martin to ‘learn from his mistakes’ after his side squandered a second-half lead against league leaders Liverpool, losing 3-2 at St Mary’s on Sunday.
Individual errors contributed to Southampton’s disappointing defeat at the weekend, with goalkeeper Alex McCarthy’s performance being particularly concerning.
Writing for Sportskeeda, Merson noted that while Southampton were ‘really unlucky’ against Liverpool, their defensive fragility remains a significant issue and predicted another loss for Martin’s side against Brighton this weekend:
“I thought Southampton were really unlucky the other day against Liverpool because they played well in that 3-2 defeat.
“Now everybody is like, 'if they play like that, they will be fine' [in the race to avoid relegation]. But they are still letting goals in and that's a big problem in my opinion.
“I'd be shocked if Brighton don't win this game at home. Southampton never learn from their mistakes.
“They will continue to play out from the back and shoot themselves in the foot in the process yet again.
“If you can't play out from the back, don't do it. It's that simple! I don't think it's a sensible approach, but I'm sure they'll go down that road like always.”
Sunday's loss left Southampton rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, now five points adrift of safety, having scored just nine goals – the fewest in the division.
Martin’s side have collected just four points in their opening 12 games, losing 10, and are the eighth team in top-flight history to do so – none of the previous seven avoided relegation.
Their possession-based approach has raised concerns – despite boasting the fifth-best possession stats in the Premier League (55.1%), the Saints rank just 18th in shot-creating actions, averaging 18.17 per 90 minutes.
After a disappointing defeat at St Mary’s, Martin's men face Brighton away next, followed by a home match against Chelsea next week.
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Southampton have slumped to yet another Premier League defeat at the weekend.
Statistics courtesy of Fbrefand Transfermarkt**. Correct as of 2 8 -11-24.**