Southampton Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl Blames Ghanaian Defender For Opening Day Defeat to Tottenham

• Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl insists Mohammed Salisu was not good enough in the league opener against Tottenham
• The Saints lost heavily to Antonio Conte's men at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday to begin the season with defeat
• Mohammed Salisu had a difficult game as he netted an own goal before conceding two minutes later in the second half

Mohammed Salisu has been blamed for Southampton's crumble in the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in their English Premier League opener.

The Ghana defender netted a bizarre own goal to hand Tottenham a 3-1 lead before failing to clear his lines, leading to the fourth from Dejan Kulusevski.

After the game, manager Ralph Hassenhutl expressed dissatisfaction with the defender's performance.

“Not the reaction we wanted from the new team. It’s not about changing the shape, it’s about not conceding the third goal. The own goal by Salisu in the second half was what killed the game," Hasenhuttl told Southampton website.

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“It’s always tough to defend against such teams, last year we conceded two goals and scored three so we have to have a balance of how deep we are sitting. In the end, we have a lack of quality in every part of our game. In every team, they show you what you are missing.

“The first goals we conceded it was a good comeback from the opponent, it left them very strong and then in the second half we tried to change it a little bit to get a little bit more pressure up front but it wasn’t enough for us.”

Mohammed Salisu joined Southampton in the summer of 2020 from Spanish outfit Real Valladolid.

Mohammed Salisu scores own goal in league opener against Tottenham

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Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Ghana defender Mohammed Salisu is having the worst start to the 2022/23 English Premier League season after netting a bizarre own goal in the game between Southampton and Tottenham.

The 23-year-old turned a cross from Tottenham's Emerson into his own net as Spurs extended their lead after 62 minutes.

In a video posted on social media, the left-footed centre-back was late to react to a mistake in the middle before netting an own goal.