Russell Martin will have been delighted with his Southampton side’s performance as they cruised to a 2-0 victory against Cardiff City in front of the St Mary’s crowd.
Southampton embodied exactly how Martin has been coaching them to play in the win over the Bluebirds and it felt for many like everything fell into place as they dominated from start to finish.
The main difference is that they managed to quickly double their lead and were 2-0 up within 15 minutes, allowing their quality in possession to give them a feeling of total control which has not been the case when they have failed to score the often-elusive second goal.
A number of players stood out, with Flynn Downes receiving praise from the Southampton faithful and Adam Armstrong impressing again as he scored a brace.
However, it was a player whose starting spot was not guaranteed that really made his mark.
Ryan Manning was the star in Southampton win
Ryan Manning retained his place in the side having returned against Bristol City in midweek, with James Bree starting the five games prior to that ahead of the left-back.
Manning was a free agent in the summer and the club acted swiftly to secure the signing of the man who was an important part of Martin’s Swansea side. In the win over Cardiff, Manning showed exactly why that was the case as he was the Saints’ star man.
Whilst few doubt the full-back’s qualities going forward, there are often question marks over his defensive work.
Against Cardiff, though, Manning was excellent going both ways.
Defensively, the 27-year-old made the joint-most tackles of any Southampton player with five and won eight duels which was also the most of any Saints player; his duel success rate of 78%. He also made four interceptions in a display which gave a resounding answer to critics of his defensive work.
In possession, Manning was excellent, as is usually the case. The Ireland international made 74 passes from 114 touches, with a success rate of 89%; one of these passes being registered as a key pass too.
Will Manning start against Watford?
Martin tends to reward good performances with a continued stay in the team and this is exactly why Bree started five games in a row in an unnatural left-back position having come in for Manning when he was suspended.
With that in mind, Bree may have to watch on from the bench as Manning will almost certainly start Southampton’s next game against Watford on Saturday.
The nice thing for Martin is that he can depend on both Manning and Bree and both offer very different options, with Manning better going forward but Bree a better defender.
Both players will be important for Southampton over the course of the season and with a busy schedule it is likely both will see plenty of game time over the festive period.