Russell Martin made some big decisions when selecting his Southampton side to face Manchester United on Saturday.
Ultimately, it did not pay off as Southampton lost 3-0 to Manchester United, but Russell Martin‘s side looked very bright up until Cameron Archer missed a penalty to put the Saints 1-0 up on 33 minutes.
Archer had come into the side, as had 18-year-old Tyler Dibling who had won the penalty.
Dibling was the biggest positive of the St Mary’s defeat, taking his full Premier League debut by storm as he caused Diogo Dalot a whole host of problems, but Archer’s penalty miss proved the turning point of the game as United took control shortly after.
The other changes in personnel saw Lesley Ugochukwu and Mateus Fernandes come into the Southampton side, with Martin also changing the shape from a back three to a back four.
Russell Martin dropped Taylor Harwood-Bellis vs Man Utd
One of the surprises when the line-up was announced on Saturday was the absence of Taylor Harwoo-Bellis.
The 22-year-old was impressive on loan last season before promotion secured his £20 million permanent arrival from Manchester City.
Harwood-Bellis has struggled at the start of the season, but so have all of Southampton’s centre-backs, so he will have been disappointed to be the player snubbed in order to allow the Saints to play a back four.
Martin described Harwood-Bellis as “fantastic” in December last year after the defender helped Southampton to a 2-1 over Plymouth Argyle as he and Jan Bednarek continued their solid partnership whilst captain Jack Stephens was out injured.
However, it was Stephens who was selected to partner Bednarek from the start against United and the skipper had a day to forget as he played everyone onside for Matthijs De Ligt’s opener before being sent off for a reckless challenge late on.
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Jack Stephens suspension gives Harwood-Bellis chance to prove Martin wrong
That brainless challenge from Stephens on Alejandro Garnacho – who would later score United’s third – means the 30-year-old will now miss Southampton’s next three games.
That starts with Everton in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday, before a vital double header against Ipswich Town and Bournemouth in the league in which the Saints simply have to get their first points of the season.
Harwood-Bellis should be handed the opportunity to reprise his partnership with Bednarek in those league games, whilst it will be intriguing to see who starts at the heart of the defence against Everton in the cup.
Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood both started in the last round, with Armel Bella-Kotchap also still at the club despite being expected to leave in the summer.
Harwood-Bellis will have been hurt by Martin’s snub on Saturday and will be determined to show across the next three games that it should not happen again.