Southampton fans praise Højbjerg's commitment despite weekend red card

By Sam Preston

Southampton’s Premier League future will not be judged in matches like the visit of Manchester City yesterday, but the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s men make it two straight home defeats for the Saints.

Goals from City stalwarts David Silva and Sergio Aguero, either side of an own goal by James Ward-Prowse put the Saints to the sword and got the champions back on track after a December that has seen them lose considerable ground in the title race.

The man who got on the score sheet for the home side was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who worked under Guardiola at Bayern Munich and captained his team yesterday against his former boss.

But he blotted his copybook somewhat with a red card five minutes from time, and while it had no impact on the eventual result – City were already out of sight – it will rule him out of three forthcoming matches at a crucial time of the year.

(GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

But instead of castigating their new skipper for letting his side down, Saints supporters showed their support for the midfielder, praising his passion, which of course just was not channeled in the right way.

Perhaps it’s a reflection of the new-found unity Ralph Hasenhuttl has brought to the club or a symptom of supporting a side who have drifted for a fair while now…

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