Newly-promoted Southampton faced Newcastle in their Premier League opener, with the game being played in front of a fierce Geordie crowd.
Russell Martin fielded two new faces with Ben Brereton-Diaz and Yukinari Sugawara finding their way straight into the starting line up.
Tempers flared mid-way through the first-half when Fabian Schar was handed a red card for violent conduct on Brereton Diaz, with the Swiss defender sending the Chilean to the floor after leaning his head into him.
However, Joelinton scored the only goal of the game when Alex McCarthy played a loose pass to the feet of Alexander Isak, who played it to the Brazilian to tuck it home shortly before half-time
The Saints dominated throughout the whole of the second-half, but the Newcastle defence held strong and frustrated Russell Martin's men, with the south coast club returning home without anything to show for their valiant performance.
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Southampton Player Ratings
Alex McCarthy – 3
The Southampton goalkeeper, in reality, had barely anything to do, with Newcastle only registering three shots all game. However, when involved, he looked uncomfortable, particularly with the ball at his feet, and the Newcastle goal came from his sloppy pass out from the back. It was a poor game from McCarthy and would be no surprise if Southampton brought in a new keeper before the transfer window shuts.
Jack Stephens – 7
Jack Stephens had a fairly solid game, probably the standout in the Southampton back-line. Stephens found himself in space a lot of the time to try and the defender tried to kick-start attacks from the back. He completed more passes than anymore throughout the game and, other than his yellow card, it was a calm and composed performance from the captain.
Jan Bednarek – 6
Like most of the Southampton defenders, it was a fairly quiet day for Bednarek. The Poland international won the majority of his duels and looked calm when passing. However, his highlight of the afternoon was, arguably, his half-time tussle in the tunnel with Newcastle defender Dan Burn.
It was a very strange Premier League debut for Harwood-Bellis. He lost most of his duels and was booked after 73 minutes for pulling back Alexander Isak and stopping a counter-attack. The defender was not as involved as he usually is, however, he didn’t make any mistakes which is why he has been given this rating.
Despite all the transfer speculation, the same Walker-Peters was back at St. James Park this afternoon. He was solid defensively, composed going forward and it was an all-round good performance.
Yukinari Sugawara - 7
It was a very respectable club debut for Yukinari Sugawara. He offered a threat down the right-hand side in the first-half, the highlight being his solo run to draw a dangerous free-kick just outside of the box. However, a few misplaced passes, combined with being, surprisingly, taken off at half-time, has slightly hampered his rating.
Flynn Downes – 7
It was a typical Flynn Downes performance today at St. James Park. High energy, strong tackles and progressive passing. The Saints number four also ranked highest for chances created across the 90 minutes. However, he was rarely involved in the second-half with the ten-men of Newcastle opting to shut-up-shop.
Will Smallbone – 7
Like most of Southampton’s players today, Will Smallbone didn’t put a foot wrong. The Irishman played a part in most of the play, both defensively and going forward. However, he slightly lacked the dangerous playmaking that Southampton had last season in Stuart Armstrong.
Joe Aribo – 8 (POTM)
It was a top-tier game today from Nigerian Joe Aribo. He seemed to be everywhere this afternoon, regardless of whether Southampton had the ball or not. He was Saints' best player by some way today.
Ben Brereton-Diaz – 8
It probably wasn't the club debut that Brereton-Diaz expected today after being head-butted by Fabian Schar, leading to the Swiss being sent for an early bath. He also missed two big chances in the space of 10 minutes, but it was a performance with high energy and passion.
Adam Armstrong – 6
A fairly quiet afternoon for Geordie Adam Armstrong. A few snapshots and one cleared off the line, but didn't show the clinical nature that he displayed last season.
Substitutes -
Samuel Edozie – 6
Replacing Sugawara at half-time, Edozie looked dangerous and lively, which caused former Saint Tino Livramento a few problems early on. However, Edozie again lacked the end product to unlock the defence.
Tyler Dibling – 5
St. James Park is always a hard place to come to, especially for a teenager. Dibling looked nervous every time he received the ball and didn’t really offer much to the game.
Cameron Archer – 5
It wasn’t a great debut for Cameron Archer. He had two shots which didn’t cause goalkeeper Nick Pope any trouble whatsoever.
Charly Alcaraz – 6
Despite all the transfer speculation, Alcaraz looked very energetic when he came on, but it was too late to really change the game.
Sam Amo-Ameyaw – 6
A couple dangerous runs at the Newcastle defence when Amo-Ameyaw came on but, like Alcaraz, he came on too late to affect the game.
