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southampton Manager Russell Martin accused his players of a lack of fight, aggression and courage as he took responsibility for a “ridiculous” first-half performance in a comprehensive 3–1 defeat by their rivals. bournemouth,
Goals from Evanston, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo put the Saints’ south-coast neighbors in complete control at the Vitality Stadium.
The visitors improved after being criticized at the break, but despite reducing the deficit through Taylor Harwood-Bellis’s header, their winless start extended to six. Premier League The game behind the disgusting initial period.
Martin was angry with his team’s initial reaction when conceding the opener in the 17th minute and said that scoring top-flight points is “impossible if you are not going to fight”.
“Whatever personnel you have on the pitch, whatever way you play, if you lack the fight, aggression, spirit, togetherness and courage that we lacked in the first half, then you have a big chance,” he said. “There’s going to be a big problem.” ,
“After starting well, virtually the first blow to us in the game came from them.
“Obviously I haven’t given enough to the team in terms of mentality and character and fight and resilience, which really hurts me because those are the qualities that have got me here.
“But the team didn’t get it tonight, so it’s my fault, not theirs.
“I’m coming off the field at the end of the game and I thanked him for running and fighting in the second half and really I don’t think you should ever thank him for that, it should be the minimum.
“We have put ourselves in a position in the Premier League from which it is almost impossible to come back. This is ridiculous.
If you lack the fight, aggression, spirit, togetherness and courage, which we did not have in the first half, you are going to have a big, big problem.
Russell Martin
“Bournemouth made 20 fouls, we made 10 fouls, I think that summed up the whole game. It’s impossible if you’re not going to fight.
In addition to giving up local bragging rights, a resounding defeat in Dorset left the Saints with a single point, while extending their club-record Premier League run to 19 games, returning in the 2022–23 season. Which ended in allegations and counter-allegations.
Bournemouth record signing Evannilsson took advantage of Marcus Tavernier’s quick free-kick to score his first goal in English football, before Ouattara casually doubled the lead.
The impressive Semenyo, who was involved in two early finishes, scored his third strike of the campaign to take the lead in the 39th minute.
Harwood-Bellis saved some pride, but Southampton never looked likely to put up an impossible fight and lost well, much to the delight of the home fans.
Cherries assistant coach Tommy Elphick was delighted to see brazil International Ivanilson opened his account after receiving a large amount of money porto After Dominic Solanke left for Tottenham.
Elphick said, “When you come in with that kind of price (initial £31.7 million) and you’re trying to replace someone who has served the club so well, there’s always pressure.”
“But it is no surprise to us. It’s a bit noisy outside, but the way he’s been training, what we see every day, it’s no surprise he’s got the type of goals he’s got tonight.”
Bournemouth’s first home win of the season was a strong response to consecutive defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool.
Speaking about the overall performance, Elphick said: “This is a performance that has been coming. The first 45 minutes were electric from our perspective.”