No one expected that after only about two-thirds of the game had passed, Southampton would lead 4-0. Even the most optimistic Southampton fans did not expect that the game would go so smoothly.
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Noriya was also a little surprised. Chelsea still looked sluggish in the second half, so he changed two more people. Drinkwater replaced Mkhitaryan, and Austin replaced Benteke to strengthen the running and running on the field.
Defense.
And Di Matteo did not continue to make substitutions.
His approach was greatly criticized after the game. Everyone felt that when the game reached this point, no matter how hard you tried, you still had to pile up offensive players to launch the attack. However, Di Matteo did not make any changes.
The next game seemed a bit lackluster. The two sides continued to struggle in the midfield. Southampton did not participate much in the attack. Chelsea wanted to attack, but it was difficult to create opportunities.
It was not until the 80th minute of the game that Chelsea recovered a point with a corner kick. Cahill scored with a header. After that, Di Matteo seemed to have woken up from a dream. He first replaced Sturridge.
He took off Mata and then replaced Ashley Cole with Marin in an attempt to strengthen the attack. However, Southampton never gave Chelsea any chance. They successfully maintained the score until the end!
Even in the stoppage time, Nolito broke through from the wing and passed into the penalty area. Luis fell to the ground in front of Austin to make a clearance, but the ball hit the post and almost scored an own goal...
The final score was four to one. Southampton could almost sweep Chelsea and defend the European Super Cup!
Compared with last season's surprising defeat of Barcelona, which was at its peak, Southampton's victory this season seems much more reasonable, but no matter how reasonable it is, it can only prove one thing, and that is Chelsea's performance.
It's really not that good.
"I'm surprised to win by such a big score. Chelsea are very good, but they encountered some problems in this game... This kind of problem may happen to anyone, so we don't need to be too harsh on them. I believe Chelsea will adjust immediately.
It depends on my own state." Noriya said with a smile at the press conference.
After winning a game, he always says everything is good.
Di Matteo admitted that he had some shortcomings in preparation for the game, but "Chelsea is now in a state of change, and we need to look forward better."
Chelsea fans are not too satisfied with this, but considering that Di Matteo did a good job in putting out fires last season, for the time being, his position is still stable.
Noriya's attention has begun to shift to the next league - this season's schedule is indeed difficult for Southampton, followed by a FIFA match day, and then they will face Aston at home
Villa then went away to participate in the first game of the Champions League group stage - an away game against Real Madrid.
After challenging Real Madrid, they returned to the league and faced Arsenal away from home.
Then there's the away game against Everton.
These three opponents are difficult to deal with, or very difficult to deal with. After three consecutive away games, no matter how strong the team is, they will probably lose a layer of their skin after such a process.
However, Noriya has been mentally prepared for this result. Southampton will always have to fight some tough battles. In fact, Southampton did not encounter any particularly exaggerated two-front battle last season because of the Europa League group stage.
The opponents are weak and have not had much impact on them, so Southampton can concentrate on playing in the league. This season, it will be different.
When the international players went to the national team, Ji Ya was training other young players, especially Chambers, Luke Shaw, Prowse, Schneiderlin, Drinkwater...
They are all Southampton's backup forces.
When the team started to focus again, Ji Ya sent out a relatively young substitute lineup in the next round of league games.
Goalkeeper Navas, right back Klein, left back Luke Shaw, the center back is partnered by Chambers and Font, midfielders Matuidi and Vidal have rotated, Schneiderlin and Drinker
Watt served as a double defensive midfielder, Mkhitaryan advanced forward, and the forwards were a combination of Nolito, Willian and Austin.
Strictly speaking, this lineup with only five main players can only be regarded as a mixed lineup.
However, when facing the mid-table team Aston Villa, Southampton's young players showed extremely good form.
In the first half, Southampton's offense did not go very smoothly because they changed too many main players. On the contrary, Aston Villa relied on a counterattack to score the first goal in the 36th minute - Darren Bent
A follow-up shot in the penalty area opened the scoring for Aston Villa.
However, after the second half, Southampton, whose offense became more fluid, began to suppress Aston Villa.
In the 13th minute of the second half, Mkhitaryan sent a sharp through pass. Austin received the ball and shot directly without stopping. The shot in the penalty area accurately flew into the lower right corner of the goal!
After scoring the goal, Austin opened his arms and ran around the field. In the past three seasons at Southampton, his opportunities were not many, especially in the Premier League last season. His total appearances in various games were less than
Ten times, he was ranked behind Giroud and Klose, and this season Benteke came again...
Being able to score such a goal is also an encouragement to him.
Just five minutes later, Austin retreated to receive the ball and then passed the ball to Mkhitaryan. Mkhitaryan passed the ball straight again. William's running attracted the attention of others. Klein, who boldly moved forward, made a pass in the penalty area.
He received a direct pass from Mkhitaryan, then took a shot from ten meters away from the goal, and scored the ball into the near corner of the goal!
This is his second goal in the Premier League - he had one Premier League goal last season, and his performance has obviously become better this season.
After the reversal, Southampton's offense began to play more smoothly. Ten minutes later, Nolito passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Mkhitaryan, who advanced forward, shot directly from a long distance without stopping the ball. The ball hit the net three times.
This is Mkhitaryan's second goal this season. Noriya asked him to take more responsibility for scoring goals. Now it seems that Mkhitaryan has done a good job.
After taking a 3-1 lead, Southampton had a complete upper hand in the next period. Aston Villa wanted to counterattack, but Southampton's defense had two fast young players, Luke Shaw and Chamber.
Si's performance was outstanding, constantly disrupting their offense.
Nolito created a penalty before the end, and William hit the penalty, 4 to 1. Southampton had the same score in two consecutive games...
