Jose Fonte the quiet commander of the defence.
When Liverpool paid all that money for Dejan Lovren a few seasons ago, there would have been some stifled snickering going around St Marys. Not because those laughing would have expected Lovren’s form to drop quite so acutely, but because it occurred to them then – and to the rest of us now – that the Reds had picked the wrong centre back to poach. Jose Fonte, the upstanding, conquistador-esque defender has emerged as the real reason that Fonte/Lovren partnership was so successful, and has persevered on without his ex-partner. He captained the side here, and was seen authoritatively barking out instructions to his teammates following Wanyama’s dismissal.
Alongside Maya Yoshida and Virgil van Dyke, Fonte marshaled his back line with typical certainty and purpose, and was key in Southampton’s willful resistance of the West Ham bombardment in the final furlong. Only two defenders in the league to have played more minutes that Fonte have made fewer defensive errors (Fabricio Coloccini and Nathaniel Clyne). Naturally, that Lovren transfer seems ludicrous now, but I think a few observant souls at St Marys might have seen this coming.
Mr Reliable.
Jose Fonte has completed 100% of his 21 passes so far.https://t.co/M8EO35Hqak #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/DHZqqNMS76
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 6, 2016
