Southampton player ratings vs Wrexham: Finn Azaz 9/10, Jack Stephens poor

Southampton player ratings vs Wrexham from 5-1 Championship win. Finn Azaz 9/10, Saints forwards stood out but Jack Stephens was poor.

Southampton vs Wrexham was the Championship playoffs spots decider in the eyes of many Saints fans. The EFL had also selected a separate slot for this fixture in the 41st Championship matchday. It’s true that Southampton were running high on morale but dropping points at Wrexham could have been costly.

The Saints were sitting a point behind Wrexham with an extra game in hand, and letting the hosts gain authority at sixth place may have derailed the Saints playoffs charge.

FA Cup hero Ross Stewart also made it crystal clear that Southampton had the hardest Championship game ahead, in the sense that Tonda Eckert’s men always dropped points in the league after winning in the FA Cup.

Southampton 5-1 Wrexham: Brief Review

Considering all these fears, Southampton arguably delivered the perfect big game performance at Wrexham. The Saints broke the deadlock within fifteen minutes through Kuryu Matsuki and added a second thanks to Flynn Downes bottom-corner finish.

Yes, Wrexham did put up a fight in the latter stages of the first half and got a 1-2 goal but that was it. Southampton then toyed around with Wrexham’s defence in the second half to net three more goals and bring the scoreline to 5-1.

That said, let’s rate every Southampton starter’s performance on a scale of 10 who played a key role in humiliating Wrexham 5-1.

Southampton player ratings vs Wrexham

GK: Daniel Peretz – 6

Daniel Peretz was bored for large parts of the game. Didn’t had much of a chance saving the Josh Windass goal from close range. Two Wrexham chances came off the post but overall Peretz will be proud with the 5-1 result.

LB: Ryan Manning – 8

Ryan Manning’s crosses troubled Wrexham in the first half. The Irishman expected to see an assist or a pre-assist early on, but both Cyle Larin and Finn Azaz hit the post. Manning’s passing was remarkable down the left hand channel to pick up Edozie and Azaz near the box.

CB: Taylor Harwood-Bellis – 7.5

Played perfectly weighted passes to Manning and frequently found Shea Charles free in the middle of the park. Taylor Harwood-Bellis should have had a Kieffer Moore foul called in his favour on the 1-2 Wrexham goal. Later, Harwood-Bellis cleared a dangerous cross with the game wide open at 2-1.

CB: Jack Stephens – 5

Tonda Eckert may have been better resting Stephens again for what he did at Wrexham. Stephens misjudged a Wrexham cross that left Broadhead with a free header.

Minutes later, Windass later sent the Southampton captain the wrong way with his 1-2 finish. Stephens then had a brilliant scoring chance but he missed the free header served to him by Leo Scienza.

RB: James Bree – 6.5

James Bree was resistant to Wrexham’s press. He threaded accurate passes to initiate counter attacks for Southampton. Went for a low free kick to beat the well, didn’t succeed in it, but Flynn Downes eventually scored from there.

CM: Shea Charles – 8.5

Shea Charles glided through the Wrexham midfield at will similar to how he starred against Italy a few weeks ago. Directed a loose ball to assist Finn Azaz and also cleared a Wrexham opportunity at the other end.

CAM: Finn Azaz – 9

Finn Azaz was the best Saints player on the Racecourse pitch. He carried the counter attack and found Kuryu Matsuki unmarked on the Japanese forward’s 1-0 goal. Azaz put pressure on his marker to win the ball on Cyle Larin’s goal and it was completely justified that the 25-year-old Irishman also got a strike to his name.

CM: Flynn Downes – 8.5

Flynn Downes was another FA Cup suspended player like Kuryu Matsuki who bagged a well taken goal against Wrexham. Won headers at the back, and Downes also contributed to winning the ball high up the pitch.

LW: Samuel Edozie – 6

Samuel Edozie was good in 1v1 dribbling against George Thomason and Callum Doyle. However, the English winger was too wasteful and couldn’t setup Cyle Larin with more great chances in the box. This performance was another example why Edozie is a backup at best to Leo Scienza.

ST: Cyle Larin – 8

Cyle Larin released Finn Azaz in space to look out for Matsuki for Southampton’s 1-0 opener. Afterwards, the Japanese winger literally served an assist to Larin but he skied it to every Saints fans surprise.

Went for an acrobat attempt as well but compensated for those silly mistakes by latching onto a loose ball in the midfield and went on to bury it past Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo.

RW: Kuryu Matsuki – 8.5

Kuryu Matsuki stunned Wrexham No.1 Arthur Okonkwo with his sublime bottom corner finish. Was unlucky not to receive an assist on a Cyle Larin chance but worked tirelessly to bring the ball from the midfield. Also, Matsuki and Leo Scienza put up a show on either flank in the final half an hour.