The Saints struggled during the opening weeks of the 2015-16 season but have roared into life over the past few matches.
Could it be that their Europa League campaign was the crux of their poor performances?
Sneaking into the qualifiers after finishing seventh last season, the Saints have had trouble kicking their Premier League campaign into high-speed this time around. In the three opening games, while still competing in Europe, the club recorded two draws, two goals scored and five conceded, to be sitting in 18th place domestically.
Immediately after their exit from the Europa League, however, Ronald Koeman’s men bounced back with a confident 3-0 win over Norwich City. Continuing on from this, the side has secured another eight points from their next five games, scoring 10 goals and conceding seven.
Before
Newcastle 2 Southampton 2
Graziano Pellè opened the scoring against the run of play with one of his first touches of the ball in this match. Papiss Cisse deservedly levelled before the break with the second half containing a goal each from Georginio Wijnaldum and Shane Long.
Overall, it was a disappointing performance against a side that the Saints should have had a much more comfortable time against. Dominant in the first half but only managing par in the second period, the South Coast side were probably a tad lucky to get one point.
Southampton 0 Everton 3
Back at home the cracks in the Saints defence were revealed in the first match. Romelu Lukaku seemed to stroll through the defence grabbing himself a brace before the half with Barkley scoring the third late on.
Very shaky play from the two central defender in José Fonte and Maya Yoshida and scoring profligacy resulted in a forgettable performance from Southampton.
Watford 0 Southampton 0
The only real positive that the men from St. Mary’s could take from this dull game was a clean sheet. On the balance of play the newly promoted Watford team were far better value for the point, creating the only real clear-cut chances in the game.
Additionally, the Saints had no creative play in the attacking third and the midfield offered no spark either.
Click NEXT to see how Southampton fared after their Europa League exit.
