Van Dijk left out of the picture as Saints struggle
THE murmurs started at about midday. A couple of fans outside St Mary’s said they hadn’t seen defender Virgil van Dijk with the rest of the players as they arrived in their club tracksuits. Sure enough he did turn up about an hour later with his daughter Nila but not in Saints attire. Confirmation came at 2pm that he had been left out of the squad a week after he was benched at Chelsea.
If Van Dijk does get his wish to leave the south coast for either Manchester City or Liverpool, Mauricio Pellegrino will be losing a player of supreme talent. But a hefty fee will help the manager add to an inconsistent attack.
You sensed Charlie Austin’s header in the first half was never going to be enough to keep David Wagner’s side and the 1,581 travelling fans quiet. It wasn’t, with Laurent Depoitre equalising in the 64th minute.
Part of Van Dijk’s quality is the way he can organise a defence. Southampton’s looked anything but when Rajiv van La Parra’s half-hearted attempt at goal dropped to the feet of defender Maya Yoshida in the opening stages. He fluffed his clearance but Huddersfield couldn’t capitalise.
If there is one thing Pellegrino would have noted from Huddersfield’s playing style is that they don’t let you rest for long. Right-back Florent Hadergjonaj had already offered himself on the right wing a couple of times when his cross was met by the head Van la Parra, only for Fraser Forster to make a save.
Saints had done nothing to trouble Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl until they got a corner in the 24th minute. James Ward-Prowse found the head of Wesley Hoedt who flicked on to Austin at the far post and he placed his header past Lossl.
Not long after that Austin caught Lossl with his right boot when it was clear the goalkeeper had already claimed the ball. The Dane needed treatment and boss Wagner called it ‘an ugly and nasty challenge’ afterwards. He added: ‘I will never say someone likes to hurt an opponent on purpose but to be honest it looks like this is the case.’
Austin dragged a Nathan Redmond pass wide after the break. On came Tommy Smith and Joe Lolley. Three minutes later and Huddersfield were level after a superb move that started in their own half.
Smith helped the ball into Saints’ six-yard area where Depoitre was unmarked and his header nestled in the back of the net. What must Van Dijk have been thinking watching from one of the executive boxes? Austin limped off with a hamstring injury which Pellegrino said will keep him out for at least two weeks.
Saints hit the post through Yoshida and now have just one win in their last 10 Premier League games. Asked whether Van Dijk had played his last game, Pellegrino said: ‘I don’t know. We will have to wait but I will repeat that there will be a lot of speculation around him.’