Following today’s clash between Southampton and Stoke City, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Southampton hosted Stoke City at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday March 3, with both sides playing out a scoreless draw.
Stoke have now lost just one of their six games under Paul Lambert, having lost six of the previous eight, but Southampton will feel they should’ve taken all three points given the chances they fashioned across the 90.
Teams:
Southampton:
McCarthy, Soares, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand, Romeu, Lemina, Sims (Boufal 76), Tadic (Gabbiadini 64), Redmond, Carrillo (Long 79).
Substitutes:
Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Bednarek, Forster.
Stoke:
Butland, Bauer, Zouma, Martins Indi, Stafylidis (Crouch 45), Cameron, Shaqiri, Allen, Ndiaye, Choupo-Moting (Jese 64), Diouf (Pieters 23).
Substitutes:
Johnson, Shawcross, Fletcher, Haugaard.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle, Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino explained.
‘We dominated the game in the second half and had the most clear chances. It is efficiency. We couldn’t score. We couldn’t convert the possession into goals. That is part of football. We are disappointed but we need to use the second half for the next game. The team played with more tempo second half and did enough to try and win the game, but we have to do it from the beginning. Maybe the tempo wasn’t good enough at the start. There was a lot pressure. They pressed us and we couldn’t find the spaces. You have to try and find different solutions. This is the Premier League. We know it is tough. Everyone tries to win the game. Every single game is important now.’
Stoke City manager Paul Lambert in his comparative interview explained.
‘Credit to the team, a few months ago we would have lost it. It was fantastic. Look at the table and three points takes you to 13th, I think. Momentum is with us. But a big credit to the team for that.’
He added.
‘It looks like Mame Diouf’s shoulder has popped out. I need to see how he is feeling. It was a big loss as he gave us an outlet.’
