Report: Brereton Díaz scores on first start as Saints draw with Lazio
Southampton’s preparations for the Premier League season continued as they drew 1-1 with Lazio in their penultimate friendly match of the summer.
It was a lively, and at times fiery, affair at St Mary’s, with both sides being reduced to ten men in the second half after Ben Brereton Díaz’s fifth-minute goal on his first start for the club had been cancelled out by a sensational Valentin Castellanos goal shortly after the half-hour mark.
Russell Martin made nine changes from the team that started at Millwall, as he continued to ensure minutes were distributed around the squad, with Alex McCarthy and Charlie Taylor the two who retained their places.
Saints started as vibrantly as the new pink third kit that they were debuting, as Sam Amo-Ameyaw twice went close in the opening minutes, first seeing a shot blocked after a driving run towards the box and then forcing Lazio keeper Ivan Provedel into a smart stop after another strike from the edge of the area.
That proved to be only a brief reprieve for the visitors, though, as Brereton Díaz made the breakthrough in the fifth minute.
It was an excellent goal that came from Charly Alcaraz winning the ball brilliantly around halfway, taking it forward and playing a low pass into his teammate on the corner of the area. Brereton Diaz then drifted across the edge of the box, beating two players on the way, before curling a precise low shot just inside the far post.
Ben Brereton Díaz finds the net for the first time with Saints (Photo: Matt Watson)
The strike capped a fine start to the game for Saints, with the only Lazio threat in the early stages being a Luca Pellegrini free-kick from 20 yards that went a yard or two over.
Lazio did come into the game more as the half wore on, with a good sliding block from Ryan Manning on 27 minutes stopping a Gustav Isaksen shot inside the area, before Valentin Castellanos shortly afterwards fired a shot on the turn a yard wide of the far post.
It would have been a fine goal from Castellanos, but it wouldn’t have compared to the one he did score on 32 minutes.
Receiving the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the box, he juggled the ball a couple of times before whipping an acrobatic volley over his shoulder into the far corner.
Saints were wearing their new third kit for the first time (Photo: Matt Watson)
Two minutes later and Lazio could – and really should – have taken the lead, as a ball down the right released Manuel Lazzari, who poked it past the on-rushing Alex McCarthy, only to ten put his shot towards the empty net wide of the far post from the right edge of the area.
Having suffered a difficult spell, Saints did then respond, as Alcaraz curled a free-kick from 25 yards into the side netting, but they were soon then again under pressure, with McCarthy making a superb close-range save to keep out an Isaksen header in the 42nd minute.
Half time brought two changes from Martin, as Sam Edozie and Tyler Dibling were sent on in place of Brereton Díaz and Manning.
Both sides looked to attack from the off, with Lazio going closest in the early stages of the half when Isaksen struck a left-footed shot from just inside the area that hit the underside of the bar. The ball was certainly close to crossing the line as it landed, but the officials ruled it did not.
Charly Alcaraz was heavily involved in the night's events (Photo: Matt Watson)
The visitors struck the bar again on 57 minutes, as Lazzari burst into the area and squared for Castellanos, who should have scored, but he got under his effort and sent it against the woodwork.
Tempers then flared two minutes later when a Shea Charles foul on Matt Zaccagni sparked an initial confrontation between Alcaraz and Danilo Cataldi, before things then got heated between Alcaraz and Alessio Romagnoli, as players and staff from both sides converged on the incident. The end result after everyone was separated and the situation calmed was a red card for both Alcaraz and Romagnoli.
Saints made two more changes with 20 minutes left, as Joe Aribo and Will Smallbone came on for Amo-Ameyaw and Sékou Mara, before another substitution followed soon after, with Jack Stephens replacing Ronnie Edwards.
A final change came late on when Yuki Sugawara joined the action in place of Charlie Taylor, before the final whistle brought the night to a close, shortly after Edozie had forced an excellent stop from substitute keeper Christos Mandas in the final minute.
For Saints, there is now just one more outing before the Premier League begins, as they welcome Getafe to St Mary's on Saturday.
Southampton: McCarthy, Bree, Edwards (Stephens 77), Wood, Manning (Dibling 46), Taylor (Sugawara 86), Charles, Amo-Ameyaw (Aribo 72), Alcaraz, Brereton Díaz (Edozie 46), Mara (Smallbone 72).
Unused substitutes: Lis, Lumley, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Downes, Armstrong.
Goals: Brereton Díaz (5’)
Booked: Charles.
Red cards: Alcaraz.
Lazio: Provedel (Mandas 46), Pellegrini (Castrovilli 86), Romagnoli, Casale (Gabarron 86), Lazzari (Marusic 80), Vecino, Guendouzi (Hysaj 86), Cataldi (Gila 63), Zaccagni, Castellanos, Isaksen (Tchaouna 72).
Unused substitutes: Furlanetto, Dele-Bashiru, Rodriguez, Noslin, Ruggeri, Milani, Akpa Akpro.
Goals: Castellanos (32’)
Booked: Guendouzi, Castellanos, Gila, Zaccagni.
Red cards: Romagnoli.
Referee: Tim Robinson.
