Claude Puel’s Southampton side were comfortable victors in their Europa League tie against Sparta Prague, in a game that saw Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez return to the scoresheet.
Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez celebrates scoring their third goal with Cuco Martina
Fraser Forster (7/10) – Rarely threatened by Sparta Prague but remained reliable when called upon just before half-time.
Cuco Martina (8/10) – An impressive performance from the Dutch full-back, who consistently found himself in forward positions on the right flank. A fine second-half for Martina was capped-off by an accurately delivered assist for Southampton’s second goal.
Virgil Van Dijk (8/10) – Showed emblematic composure at the heart of Southampton’s defence and was unlucky with a headed attempt a goal in the second half. Managed to sort the disagreement between Tadic and Austin over who should take the penalty.
Maya Yoshida (6/10) – Like Van Dijk, Yoshida has had more testing games. However, unlike his fellow centre-back, the Japanese international looked far from composed and was guilty of a couple of rash positional decisions, requiring unnecessary recovery.
Matt Target (6/10) – The young English left-back had an industrious 90-minutes for the Saints but was unable to make the same offensive inroads as right-back Martina.
Oriol Romeu (7/10) – Constantly harassing and scheming from central midfield, former Chelsea and Barcelona man Romeu protected Southampton’s back line effectively. Replaced by Steven Davis in the 82nd minute.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (8/10) – The midfielder’s best game for Southampton to date. Hojbjerg’s tenacity and creativity throughout the match highlighted why Puel spent almost £13 million on the former Bayern Munich player. Only let down by his end product on a couple of crucial occasions.
James Ward-Prowse (6/10) – In similar fashion to Targett, Ward-Prowse struggled to make a significant mark in the game, despite his admirable work-ethic for the team – almost losing his discipline in the closing stages after a late challenge.
Dušan Tadić (6/10) – An encouraging start from the player who usually ties things together for Southampton. Unfortunately caught up in an avoidable clash with Charlie Austin over penalty-taking duties. Replaced by Nathan Redmond on 69 minutes.
Shane Long (7/10) – A typically honest, professional and selfless performance by Long, who led from the front and helped the defensive shape along Southampton’s right-hand-side. The Irish forward was a constant threat and his work-rate was typified by Long’s assist for Jay Rodriguez‘s 92nd minute sealer.
Charlie Austin (9/10) – Scorer of two goals and a performance worthy of European football. In truth, Austin may well have scored a hat-trick if not for a fine save from Sparta’s goalkeeper. A pleasing sight for all Southampton fans, as Austin (and his replacement Jay Rodriguez) found himself back amongst the goals after injury lay-offs.
Southampton found some much-needed early season form with this 3-0 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague
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