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Granted it was only pre-season, but Southampton suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to German side FC Augsburg on Wednesday evening.
And first-year manager Mauricio Pellegrino said it straight.
“It wasn’t our best,” he told the Official Southampton Website. “The only positive thing is that it was a friendly game.”
Southampton has one last opportunity — against Sevilla on Saturday — to see their progress before it counts.
Pellegrino was without Cedric Soares, who returned to training on Monday after an extended holiday. Virgil van Dijk was also absent and the defender hasn’t featured all pre-season.
“We cannot repeat the same situation on the pitch [today]. The other team was better in all different moments of the game — with the ball, without the ball, in the challenge and positionally,” he added. “We now start working for the next step.”
Southampton’s 2017/18 Premier League campaign kicks off 12th August when they host Swansea.