After winning 4-0 last weekend, Sunderland might have been expecting to win a second match in a row at the expense of Southampton. Boy, were they wrong. Southampton romped to a 0-4 win at the Stadium of Light in easy fashion.
And it was down to the changing on tactics by manager Claude Puel that is was possible. The French manager went with a 4-2-3-1. He allowed Dusan Tadic, always capable but never quite fully at it, to play behind new signing Manolo Gabbiadini. That pairing paid off for the Saints as Gabbiadini went on to score twice in the match.
He’s truly hit the ground running, and Puel is very happy about it, saying “it’s a very good start of course.” But he’s happiest about the “partnership” the two men are already forming from the training ground.
This is no doubt exactly what the Saints would have been hoping for by signing Gabbiadini. They’ve got so much quality in the back and in midfield, and they just need someone to tie it all together. And now that Tadic seemingly will have a larger role to play, all is well ahead of their showdown with Manchester United at Wembley toward the end of the month.
