When speaking after the game, Dean Smith claimed that Aston Villa’s goals conceded against Southampton came down to “individual mistakes”, as reported by the club’s official channels.
That can be said for the first and third goals, when Bjorn Engels was completely taken out of the game with one pass, while Marvelous Nakamba provided Danny Ings with a golden chance on a plate.
However, it is Southampton’s second that should be most concerning for the manager, as it showed a distinct lack of organisation from the men in claret and blue, rather than relying on a mistake from one man.
Watch Aston Villa Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
When James Ward-Prowse whipped his corner into the box, powerful Saints centre-back Jack Stephens found himself directly up against Anwar El Ghazi, who averages just 0.8 aerial duels won per game.
It should not be too much of a surprise that he easily beat the Dutchman to get his head on the ball, as he directed it across Tom Heaton and into the back of the net.
Villa really could have set themselves up in a far better way to deal with the aerial threat that Southampton showed during the set-piece.
For starters, they had Wesley, who wins 3.3 aerial duels per game, filling the space on the edge of the six-yard box, rather than actually getting close to any of the potential threats.
In addition, they had Douglas Luiz on Danny Ings, who was able to move away from the Brazilian with ease and found himself in space.
No clues: Can you name all of these Premier League icons? Test your knowledge below…
Most surprisingly of all, Kortney Hause, the 6 foot 3 defensive powerhouse, was left as a free man.
With organisation like that, it should not be too much of a surprise that they have already conceded ten goals from set-pieces in the league this season, which is the highest total of any Premier League club.
Villa really need to sort this out, as they must be better organised if hope is to be maintained that the team can stop conceding so regularly and climb the table.
In other news, one Villa man got a mixed reaction from fans following the Southampton loss.