Southampton boss Russell Martin made one correct call despite the 3-0 loss to Manchester United.
Southampton found themselves defeated for the fourth game running in the 2024/25 Premier League season.
The Saints managed to get off to a good start at St Mary’s, with several of Russell Martin’s changes putting in a decent shift.
There was much more of a sense of optimism amongst the ranks and the likes of Tyler Dibling, Lesley Ugochukwu and Mateus Fernandes were at the epicentre of that.
Despite a bright start, Manchester United took advantage of Cameron Archer’s poorly-taken as Matthijs De Ligt went up the other side only minutes later to strike a header past Aaron Ramsdale on his Southampton home debut.
Marcus Rashford made matters worse for Martin’s side and doubled the lead for the visitors.
There were positives in the performance, despite the 3-0 scoreline, which was topped off at the death by a late strike courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho, and there was one bold call that Martin made in the game has certainly proven to be correct.
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Russell Martin made correct call to replace Taylor Harwood-Bellis with Tyler Dibling
Martin surprisingly made a bold call with his team selection, with the likes of Adam Armstrong, Will Smallbone and Taylor Harwood-Bellis dropping out of the starting 11, however it proved to be a brilliant move from the Saints boss, who as a result gave Dibling his first League start.
The Southampton right-winger was able to make an immediate impact for Southampton by drawing in a foul from Diogo Dalot to earn a penalty, which was not converted by Archer.
At just the age-of-18, he showed real class and there was no sense of naivety in his play as he caused constant problems for the Manchester United full-back, and tested Andre Onana in-between the sticks.
Tyler Dibling’s game by numbers
There is no doubting that Dibling made a significant impact for Southampton from the get-go, and the statistics certainly back up that point.
Per Sofascore, the young wide-man managed a brilliant 89% passing accuracy against Manchester United, with him also completing two long balls and a key pass.
The first half saw him win three fouls, one of which resulted in winning a penalty.
Whilst Martin arguably shouldn’t have dismissed the youngster on the 60th minute, with them really missing his threat once he was brought off, it was certainly a good call from the Southampton boss to trust in Dibling to transform the right-flank.
There is now a certainty that Dibling, if he can repeat his brilliant performance against Manchester United in the weeks to come, will become a mainstay for the Saints this season, and from his brilliant performance, there are no surprises as to why.