Southampton changed how they were playing from the start of the second half and pressed us like Everton did the week before. Luckily we got away with it and should have made those substitutions earlier to strengthen our midfield. PV seems to like to play with just one central midfielder which worked in the first half as Southampton didn’t press us. I can only see problems ahead if we continue with just one central midfielder? But, well done Luka yesterday as he like Dacoure does carried our midfield in the first half and then played well with Hughes and Reidewald alongside in the second half after they came on.

Didn't see that but got a chuckle over the three Southampton boys in their 20s behind me approaching the station who were heard to say: "Well. That was a waste of a trip. Now we have to spend two to three hours getting back to our s***hole of a town."

I was sitting a few rows back from Vieira yesterday and as Southampton got on top in the second half Vieira was imploring our attacking players to come back and assist in alleviating the pressure.
I've never seen him so animated on the touchline.
When Eze made a sloppy pass (and didn't chase back) which could have led to a Southampton equaliser he was substituted almost straight away.
Vieira has certain principles about how he wants the game played meaning 433 with one number 6 and two number 8s in midfield.
We could see yesterday that was fine in the first half when Southampton stood off us.
However, in the second half the system was exposed as Southampton stepped up their game which forced Vieira into the more defensive substitutions.
I remain of the view that we currently don't have the midfield options to play Vieira's preferred system as admirable as the principles may be.

One final thought - the behaviour of a good number of Soton fans during the minute's silence before the game when the last post was being played was disgusting.

Got back very late from the game last night so have only now read (most of) the comments on this thread.

Some thoughts:
1. I sit in the Glazier stand and so for once got to see most of the action close-up.
2. It was the best 1st half I've seen us play this season.
3. Our front 4/5 pressed strongly throughout that half and didn't allow Soton time on the ball. We regularly won back possession quickly and kept the opposition under constant pressure.
4. Unfortunately, our final ball was often poor. We really should have been out of sight by half-time.
5. The Premier League is the toughest in the world and most teams aren't able to control games throughout. It was no surprise when Soton started the 2nd half at a higher tempo and pressed us high up (they hadn't done that 1st half for the simple reason we rarely gave them the chance to play in our half).
6. The substitutions made sense to me at least. We had to stop Soton driving forward centrally and the arrival of Hughes to support Luka achieved that with both Ayew and Riedewald adding additional midfield strength.
7. Like many on this site, my heart sank when I saw Doucoure wasn't going to play and that we would be relying on Luka for that role. HOWEVER, Luka had a decent game IMHO, especially with his finding space to receive the ball and make forward passes. He also avoided giving away his customary free kick in Ward-Prowse territory. A shame he claimed captain's privilege for the one potentially dangerous free-kick we had 1st half.
8. I am disappointed that so many on here have been so negative about our performances over the last month. We've collected 10 points from the last 5 games. We're clearly doing enough right to have achieved that return - Yes it would be good to see a game where we win comfortably - but come on guys THIS IS PALACE, we rarely win games comfortably. THREE home wins on the bounce is worth celebrating.

Edited by doombear (30 Oct 2022 10.18am)

Indeed I was! As we all know, seeing your club lose brings out the frustration!