The Southampton side against Manchester United had a very different feel to it than the one that lost 3-1 to Brentford, as Russell Martin changed from a back three to a back four.
There were also four changes in personnel, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Joe Aribo, Adam Armstrong and Will Smallbone replaced by Lesley Ugochukwu, Mateus Fernandes, Tyler Dibling and Cameron Archer.
What followed was a far brighter start from Southampton who took the game to United and were on top for the first half an hour.
Dibling was lively on his full Premier League debut and won a penalty after beating Diogo Dalot before being brought down in the box.
It was Archer who stepped up to take the penalty but his tame effort was saved and the striker was unable to convert the rebound.
Alan Shearer surprised Cameron Archer took Southampton penalty vs Man Utd
This proved to be the turning point in the match as the miss drained the life out of Southampton whilst boosting United.
Perhaps inevitably, United went ahead two minutes after the miss through Matthijs De Ligt before Marcus Rashford doubled the lead before half-time.
A red card to captain Jack Stephens followed by a 96th-minute Alejandro Garnacho goal saw a match that started so well end on a really sour note, with Southampton failing to have a single shot after Archer’s penalty miss.
Former Southampton striker and all-time record Premier League goalscorer Alan Shearer was on punditry duty on Match of the Day on Saturday night where he claimed he was surprised to see Archer step up to take the penalty.
Shearer said: “I was slightly surprised because [Ben] Brereton-Diaz has taken nine pens and has scored nine times and Cameron Archer hasn’t taken a penalty at all, so that was his first one today.
“I suspect he won’t be on the next one if or when they get it.”
Shearer added that he agreed this was the key moment in the match, adding: “There’s no doubt about it, the manager said it, didn’t he, afterwards that the attitude and the atmosphere changed after that. That was a huge moment in the game.”
Archer penalty miss latest example of Southampton lack of confidence in front of goal
Archer never looked confident but the painstaking three minute wait before the initial awarding of the penalty and it being taken certainly did not help the 22-year-old.
Southampton have scored just one Premier League goal in four games this season, with that strike coming courtesy of right-back Yukinari Sugawara.
Martin has to find a way to instil some confidence in his attacking players, with Brereton Diaz and Armstrong both looking unsure off themselves in the opening weeks of the campaign.
Archer had looked confident up until his penalty miss but did little in the game after that point, suggesting the squandered opportunity had an impact on his performance.
Undoubtedly a worry for Martin, Southampton need to find a way to score goals in the top flight; particularly as they travel to face fellow newly-promoted Ipswich Town next weekend.
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