The post was hit, VAR ruled out a goal for Sheffield United, and a wonder-goal from an unlikely source was what ultimately separated the two sides. Southampton’s weekend had it all.
The Saints’ 1-0 win over the Blades now sees the south coast knocking on the door for the top-10 sides in the Premier League with seven points after five games.
It was the ideal game to build on from following Southampton’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United before the international break, and the hero from that game, Jannik Vestergaard, is starting to show signs of preforming consistently in the Premier League.
The Danish defender was instrumental in the Saints keeping a clean sheet against Sheffield United, winning the most aerial duels out of anyone on the pitch as well as the second-most clearances out of any Southampton defender as numbers from WhoScored show.
Indeed, the former Borussia Monchengladbach was a man-mountain for Southampton on the day that contributed massively to the Saints keeping their second clean sheet of the season, and this kind of consistency from the Dane can be what takes Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side to the next level in the Premier League.
With Bournemouth on the horizon, who recently took apart Everton 3-1 with relative ease, Vestergaard will be aiming to keep up his good form when the Cherries travel along the south coast to St. Mary’s, and this inspired performance against an impressive Sheffield United side can spur the Dane on to another good performance.
Southampton have lofty ambitions this season to return the top-half of the Premier League table, and with Vestergaard playing some of his best football in a Saints shirt, it is seemingly possible this aim set by the club can be realistically achieved with the defender looking likely to unlock the potential that was once on show when Vestergaard first made the move to England.
