Southampton were on the wrong end of a thrashing when they travelled to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
They’ve had a transfer window to address things but Southampton’s problems under Mark Hughes have continued into this season.
The Saints hadn’t found the back of the net for five Premier League games before their meeting with Manchester City on Sunday – although a 29th-minute penalty from Danny Ings brought that streak to an end.
The real problem for Southampton, however, was that they were already 3-0 down by that point.
Hughes had set up his team to have a go at City, as proven by their 13 shots – Southampton’s six on target were as many as City’s previous five Premier League opponents combined – but their failure to convert left them helpless.
The eventual 6-1 defeat appears to be a damning review of Hughes’ approach, but midfielder Mario Lemina has defended his manager.
“I think it was better to go and try to do something instead of defending and losing 1-0 or 2-0,” Lemina told Sky Sports.
We tried, we lost, we just have to accept they are better than us and learn to work and be better.
“We have to learn from the City game because they are really good and show a lot of qualities that can make things easier for us in the next games.
“We tried a lot [to create chances]. We have a good team, a really good team. We just have to believe in our strength and qualities and, if we are a little luckier, we will achieve some good things.”
It’s easy to see where Lemina is coming from – the likes of Burnley and Brighton barely got out of their own halves against City, and both losses were formalities – but the 6-1 defeat is only technically better than the 5-0 Burnley suffered.
While pushing forward and having shots would make it easier for Southampton to score, it also meant that they weren’t playing to their strengths at the Etihad.
In fact, quite the opposite, as they were relying on scoring goals, undoubtedly their biggest weakness.
It might sound nice on paper, but it’s difficult to look at Southampton and believe they should be attacking City – much less after a 6-1 defeat.
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