Southampton’s Kuryu Matsuki scored his first brace for the club at home against QPR, allowing the Saints to set up in a varied system.
Southampton eased to victory against Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night, where yet another Tonda Eckert tactical tweak paid off.
Regular starter Tom Fellows was left out by the German head coach, and Kuryu Matsuki was handed a deserved start, after various bright cameos in recent weeks.
But Matsuki for Fellows was not just a like-for-like change – Eckert once again showed some impressive tactical nous in shifting team responsibilities to trouble QPR both in and out of possession with this change.
Rather than their usual 4-4-2 out-of-possession pressing structure, the Saints made a change. Instead of going man-for-man with QPR, like they have done in every game since reverting to a four-at-the-back, Saints compromised by creating an extra man in midfield at all times.
This was driven by the clever relationship between Kuryu Matsuki and James Bree, whose relationship on the right side of the pitch developed on the night.
When pressing, it was more of a 4-3-1-2, with winger Leo Scienza and striker Cyle Larin occupying the Hoops defenders Ronnie Edwards and Jimmy Dunne. Finn Azaz sat slightly deeper, shielding the midfield but also pressing.
Kuryu Matsuki, who on paper was Saints’ right winger on the night, became a right centre midfielder, pushing Flynn Downes and Caspar Jander vertically into a midfield three. This change allowed Saints to dominate the midfield, and QPR’s core collapsed.
While this lack of midfield control was somewhat down to Southampton’s quality, the two QPR central midfielders shared just 67 touches in total. Compared to the 110 of Saints duo Caspar Jander and Flynn Downes, it’s poor viewing.
Kuryu Matsuki had one of his finest games for Southampton since making his debut at the start of the season, this time in a new role. The Japanese playmaker was influential and effective in possession, allowing right back James Bree the freedom of the right side of the pitch.
Matsuki played an inside role in the build-up phase, giving Southampton four players against QPR’s two in midfield, a simple overload. The Japanese is a typically unselfish player, who wears his heart on his sleeve, happy to get on with the dirty work, and it paid off.
The 22-year-old got into two great goalscoring positions, capitalising both times – and could have even had three or four had moments gone his way.
The Saints now occupy 7th place in the Championship, one place and four points off the play-off places. Unbeaten in eight games, this looks a fantastic chance for Tonda Eckert’s side to capitalise, with other teams in the race dropping points.
Since the 33-year-old German’s first game in charge in November, no Championship side has scored more goals, won more games, or taken more points than the Saints.
With a quality squad that’s able to be as tactically versatile as Eckert could possibly dream in the Championship, all the tools are there for Southampton to make that spot in the top six.
