The Skipper

... Very constructive Leif.

It was still the right thing to do because it was clear our manager wasn't going to ever play him frequently enough.

Schneiderlin is a better DM than Matic? My word. Why do you even think so? Can you back that up?

Messi doesn't really play centrally anymore at Barcelona though. He's gone back to the right side of the attack (sometimes he swaps with Suarez but he isn't exclusively in the centre anymore).

I hope you now agree that City's run in isn't easier than ours.

Schneiderlin.

To further elaborate on my earlier point: We definitely made some changes tactically in the second half. In the first we were very deep, a lot more compact, and weren't committing men forward, especially after our goal (we had a decent 5 minute spell before that). In the second it definitely changed. Mourinho got more players to commit forward and we played with a much higher line and started pressing a lot more and played more physically - so I would say we caused Soton to retreat to their initial game plan; they definitely came to the Bridge looking to sit and counter but because we offered them so much freedom in the first half, Koeman allowed his players to revert to the more traditional way Soton play - which is trying to dictate the tempo. As soon as Mourinho realised that we shouldn't be as compact or patient and that we should play with a much higher tempo and line, we automatically took control of the game as we should've from the start. Remember, Southampton haven't played for 12 days iirc - that's a lot of preparation time. They weren't physically exhausted or anything - Koeman's tactics are just very, very flexible. It's the reason why they're joint best defensively with us in the PL this year. They can change their transitions in a moment, a very well coached team. As soon as Koeman realised that we were piling on the pressure he got his team to retreat into a low block and hoped that the pace of Mane and Long would catch us out, but credit to Azpi, JT (who I thought was great in the 2nd half, underrated performance. Made a lot of key interceptions) and Ramires (who came on and performed the Matic role excellently), who didn't give those two a sniff. Courtois was also a lot more proactive off his line because we pushed up higher, I'm sure this was an instruction from Jose (naturally, of course). Credit must go to Mourinho for actually trying to revert back to our more cavalier approach from earlier in the season, we haven't seen that from the team in ages. His subs indicated that we were going for the win as well. I really liked his Ramires -> Matic sub - haven't seen a risky sub like that from Mourinho in ages. Of course credit to the players who responded magnificently as well and tried to win the game.

Courtois Azpi - Zouma - JT - Luis Matic - Fabregas Cuadrado - Willian - Hazard Costa Please and thank you.

Thank you for collating my thoughts.

Honestly, still waiting for the day this back 4 is given a regular go.

I was really looking forward to the Luis - Hazard combination this season. Such a shame.

I disagree sorry. Southampton sat back because we stopped sitting back and actually increased our pressing game and intensity. I'll reply again with more depth later, phone is about to die. Honestly, that 2nd half performance was one of our best in a long, long, long time.

I disagree, there were clear changes in our approach in the 2nd. We increased our tempo, played a much higher line, Fabregas was allowed to push forward a lot more and we weren't as compact as we were before. We pressed a lot more as well. These are all the changes Mourinho made for us in the 2nd. It wasn't purely the players. I commend him for that.

Spot on on every single point here, exactly how I saw the game. On Schneiderlin as well, he would be a fantastic signing, I agree. He'd be the perfect squad player in midfield for us. Ideal replacement for Matic and a midfield three of Schneiderlin - Matic - Fab would also be very good in big games.

Our approach in the first half was atrocious but kudos to Jose for basically admitting that we set up wrong and actually changing it up tactically in the 2nd which allowed us to play the way we did in the 2nd. We've had that first half performance too often recently however. We do really need to pick it up from now.

Was fantastic in the 2nd today. Hope he and Fabregas get back to that early season form (the same they showcased in the 2nd half against Soton). If they do we win this title with ease.

Did you not see that very, very clear cut chance he created for Oscar?

Fantastic in that Matic role today.

He was awful today (apart from a 15-20 minute spell in the second half). Hope he picks it up from now though, really liked what he showed in that 15-20 minute spell in the second. He plays like that and we tick so much more as a team.

He needs games. I said from the start that he's going to need them to adapt to the PL. He was dire but can't really expect much from someone who barely plays. 10 minutes isn't enough.

Our best chances of the game fell to him and one of his perceived strengths is finishing, and he still couldn't do it. Awful.

Cuadrado's cameo was awful.

Fabregas is turning it on these last few minutes. He now has runners. Simple.

A combination of things. Mainly players not performing (not because they've been flogged, other things) and tactical nativity at times. Certainly not fitness IMO.

Should've been off a long time ago.