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Lack of scoring continues to haunt Southampton in frustrating home draw
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Southampton’s penalty curse struck again as they fought out a 0-0 draw at home against Manchester United on Wednesday.
Manolo Gabbiadini became the third player to miss from the spot in the past five games as his sixth-minute effort was saved by stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Romero also pulled off a string of good stops in the second half to extend the Saints’ scoring drought at the St Mary’s Stadium.
United might have rested a number of first-team regulars ahead of next week’s Europa League final, but they still had plenty of attacking talent, so it was no mean feat stopping them from scoring.
It is now six hours and counting since Southampton scored at home, and there is no guarantee that will not be extended when Stoke visit on the last day of the season.
Claude Puel clearly needs to spend more time practising penalties with his players, as Southampton have now missed more spot kicks than any other Premier League side.
6 – On the face of it, a 0-0 draw at home to United is not a bad result for an under-pressure manger, but Southampton once again showed a lack of cutting edge in front of goal.
Puel sprung a surprise by handing Matt Targett his first appearance in seven months in place of the “injured” Ryan Bertrand and was booed roundly when he took off James Ward-Prowse for Sofiane Boufal in the second half.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Fraser Forster, 6 – Made one good save early on to deny Eric Bailly, but was relatively untroubled for the rest of the night.
DF Cedric Soares, 6 – Allowed Anthony Martial to get in behind him on a couple of occasions and was thankful his opponent’s finishing let him down.
DF Maya Yoshida, 7 – Did not have to work too hard to keep a fading Wayne Rooney quiet, but led by example as always.
DF Jack Stephens, 6 – Put in another rock-solid game at the end of his breakthrough season.
DF Matt Targett, 6 – Was the shock name on the team sheet and did not let anyone down after being so long out of action because of injury.
MF Steven Davis, 7 – Came out on top in his midfield battle with the un-gamely Marouane Fellaini.
MF Oriol Romeu, 8 – Another superb performance from Southampton’s player of the season. United could do with a player like him in their aging midfield.
MF James Ward-Prowse, 6 – Was let down by his final ball before being taken off to the sound of jeers from the home fans.
MF Dusan Tadic, 6 – Forced a good save from Romero early in the second half, but did not make enough of an impact.
MF Nathan Redmond, 6 – Looked lively early on, but drifted in and out of the game and played the Saints intro trouble at times.
FW Manolo Gabbiadini, 5 – Ran United ragged in the EFL Cup final, but has not been the same player in recent outings and will be haunted by his penalty miss.
MF Sofiane Boufal, 5 – Being booed on will not help his confidence.
FW Jay Rodriguez, 6 – Almost scored with shot across the face of goal.
Alex Crook is ESPN FC’s Southampton blogger. Follow him on Twitter @alex_crook
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