Southampton welcomed Burnley to St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday for the 2018/19 Premier League opener.
Both sides battled to a scoreless draw on the day and it’s fair to say Burnley had the better of large parts of the match, but we had positives of our own with a few debutants on the day given the summer arrivals of Jannik Vestergaard, Stuart Armstrong, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Danny Ings.
Ings was the man who stole the show for many on social media as they reacted to the game following the full-time whistle.
Beginning on the bench, Ings joined Elyounoussi as a 56th-minute substitute and he had a marked impact on the pitch when he came on and it bodes well for the future. The 26-year-old has come in on an initial loan deal but the expectation is that will become permanent in either the January window or next summer.
this was the game changer today; into the 442 and we were much better. As soon as Ings was on the pitch he was directing, communicating and motivating. Good start for him along with other good performances today.
Dare we look forward to a decent season?!? ???????? #saintsfc https://t.co/FObsbK5nmD— Shona Brooks (@ShonaSaintsB) August 12, 2018
He knows about scor…ing on Merseyside….
Don't worry I will get my coat ????????
— Sebastian Weebl (@Sebastian_Weebl) August 12, 2018
Saints today first half not the best.
Much better when Ings came on and gave Austin support up front.
Alex Mccarthy outstanding.
Onwards and upwards.— mark white (@saintmark22) August 12, 2018
Saints still can't break down organised defences and communication at the back needs to click pretty quickly. Plus points were Vestergaard owned the penalty spot in defence and Ings made things happen.
— Kevin Pamphilon (@SidewinderKev) August 12, 2018
Agree totally. Ings – what a difference he made and his effort all over the pitch was fantastic
— Ian Thompson (@lewisdevon71) August 12, 2018
Yes – surely shift from vulnerable 1st half to much stronger 2nd will wake Hughes up to 4-4-2 working for us. Ings really was superb as well and showed potential for strong partnership with Gabbi when he was brought on. I’d love to see 4-4-2 with those two up front. COYR!
— Jon O'B (@newsaintjon) August 12, 2018
Ings made all the difference. Needs to start #Saints #premierleague #ings
— Fern Holleyoak (@Fernholley) August 12, 2018
Plenty of positive takeaways from the game, now the trick is to do it from the beginning next time we take to the pitch and register those first three points in the table.
