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Southampton fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, and centre-back Jannik Vestergaard hardly covered himself in glory throughout the afternoon.
The reason the loss against a side that has a 100% record in the Premier League this season was so disheartening was that the goals they conceded – all of which came in the first half – were ultimately preventable.
Saints signed Vestergaard in an £18m deal from Borussia Monchengladbach during the summer transfer window, which was no surprise as their poor defensive record last term almost saw them suffer relegation to the Championship.
The Denmark international was expected to help the south coast outfit when it came to aerial balls given his 6ft 6in frame, but it is a side of his game that he has already struggled with in the English top flight during the current campaign.
That included on Merseyside at the weekend, when he showed that he still needs to toughen up to be a success in the Premier League as Joel Matip beat him in the air from a corner to head home the Reds' second goal.
The 26-year-old may have won three tackles and made one interception and 10 clearances – all decent enough stats – but he lost his concentration and let his team down when it mattered, as the likes of Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt often did last season during the club's relegation battle.
Mark Hughes would have been hoping that Vestergaard would help them out defensively this season but the early signs aren't good, and the Welshman will be hoping to see a big improvement from the big Dane in the coming weeks or months, otherwise Les Reed and the infamous black box will have made yet another transfer blunder.
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