Dan was at the game against Sevilla at St Mary's on Saturday and gives his opinion on the performance.

Southampton ended their pre-season preparations with an impressive 2-0 victory over La Liga side Sevilla at St.Mary’s. Both Jack Stephens and Manolo Gabbiadini got on the scoresheet in a game that didn’t consist of too many decent chances.

The hosts started the game but it was the visitors that recorded the first shot on target but it was caught comfortably by Fraser Forster.

A few minutes later, striker Manolo Gabbiadini forced a good save from young goalkeeper Sergi Rico which resulted in a corner that was wasted by the home side.

However, another corner did pay off as it led to Southampton’s first goal, scored by defender Jack Stephens who buried the shot into the ground which led to it bouncing over the Sevilla defence and into the back of the net!

Moderately early in the second half, a clever long-ball from Stephens found Gabbiadini, who found Tadic, who was taken down by a Sevilla defender just outside of the box. Gabbiadini’s strike deflected into the path of Jack Stephens who put the ball in the back of the net for a second time that game but this time his effort was ruled out for offside.

Youngster Jake Flannigan, who came on at right-back for Cedric, was the next player to test goalkeeper Rico with a curling shot that was caught by the Spanish keeper but near the end of the game the keeper was beaten for a second time as Gabbiadini ended off a smart move from the midfield.

This win is, in my opinion, very important going into the new season. The team have the fans behind them and can go into the season opener against Swansea with momentum and confidence after a win against a strong side. Furthermore, due to our favourable handful of early fixtures, momentum will really help to ensure a good number of points are taken from these games as Saints face just one of last season’s top six in their first 10 Premier League outings.

Photo: Action Images

helpineedsomebody added 12:32 - Aug 6 lets just hope that this new midfielder when he gets the ball he runs up through the middle like jack stephens does it creates chances . this new system he plays not one of our midfieders beats a player then plays the ball forward. ive never seen liverpool play like that in my life saw aston villa play on tv last night just like us sideways / backwards far to slow will be surprised if we get 4 points with this manager / same mould as lowe merrington /wigley etc etc

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aceofthebase added 17:37 - Aug 6 I didn't see this match so just how did we play? Was it sideways and backwards or attacking? Did we dictate play or were we always just chasing the ball? Was this a far better performance than Wednesday or the same but we managed to get a couple of goals? Be honest and please let me know.
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helpineedsomebody added 18:07 - Aug 6 as above as above my honest opinion lets see who is right after 8 games
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u01efc11 added 19:44 - Aug 6 Coincidentally I'm a big Southampton being born in the city and also an avid Juventus fan. I believe Lemina at €18m +€2m is a good price in today's market. Juve have a surplus of three CMs (struraro, Rincon and Lemina) Lemina being the one with the potentially highest market value. He was arguably the player Juve fans were least happy to see leave - he is a player who came with bags of potential after a friendly appearance for marseille against Juve and didn't really progress as expected over the last couple years. He's is a strong, mobile, dynamic CM with bags of tricks but can often be erratic. He's still young and with the right mentoring he could excel. It's a win win for both clubs as he's a prospect most juve fans rate highly.

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Santos added 09:56 - Aug 7 Seville make 9 changes at half time and then we start to look better!!!! still concerned I'm afraid!! For the Style MP2 wants to play 2 more holding midfielders this Lemina from what I have seen in "edited" videos looks decent carrying the ball box to box at pace. we certainly don't have that with JWP, Classie, Hoj, or whoever else you put next to Romeu. Providing it actually happens?? a step in the right direction possibly.

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