On Southampton's Stingy Defense

This article originally appeared in BSports

Southampton are enjoying a tremendous start to the season.  They are currently in second place on the table after 11 played, four points clear of Manchester City and have allowed only five goals, less than half a goal a game.  The Saints have been great defensively, though their astonishing goals allowed rate may be due to regress.  A major factor in the team’s defensive success has been their ability to limit opposition possession in their defensive 3^rd.

	Final 3rd Passes Allowed PG
Arsenal	101.2
Southampton	107.8
Manchester City	113.2
Manchester United	113.7
Newcastle United	121.3
Everton	122.2
Chelsea	124.5
West Ham	124.6
Stoke City	124.8
Tottenham Hotspur	126.5
West Bromwich Albion	126.6
Liverpool	130.4
Burnley	141.4
Queens Park Rangers	143.5
Swansea City	150.7
Leicester City	153.0
Hull City	157.0
Sunderland	159.1
Aston Villa	165.5
Crystal Palace	167.1

But the team’s defensive success starts further up the pitch.  Southampton leads the BPL in number of possessions won in the middle 3^rd of the pitch, and the team has three of the top 10 individuals in the metric.  In particular, midfielders Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin have done a great job of snuffing out opposition possession before it becomes dangerous.  Even striker Shane Long is getting into the act.

		# Poss Won  Middle 3rd / 90
Victor Wanyama	Southampton	7.4
Charlie Adam	Stoke City	6.3
Fernandinho	Manchester City	6.0
Scott Arfield	Burnley	5.2
Tom Huddlestone	Hull City	5.0
Nemanja Matic	Chelsea	5.0
Alexandre Song	West Ham	5.0
Carlos Sánchez	Aston Villa	5.0
Shane Long	Southampton	4.8
Morgan Schneiderlin	Southampton	4.7