Player ratings from Southampton's 3-1 home defeat against Newcastle United | OneFootball

Southampton's player ratings after an awful defensive performance at the St. Mary's.

Southampton returned to the St. Mary's after an exhausting week that included two Premier League defeats. Understandably, the home game felt like a fresh atmosphere and Jan Bednarek's early goal made it even better.

Still, it was only the beginning and there was enough time for Newcastle United to stage a comeback. Alexander's Isak first half brace and Sandro Tonali's goal ensured that, inflicting more pain on an already wounded Southampton.

Now, let's rate each Southampton player based on their performance in this 3-1 home defeat.

Player ratings from Southampton's 3-1 home defeat against Newcastle United

Below, we rank Southampton's starting eleven players against Newcastle United on a scale of 1-10.

GK - Alex McCarthy: 6

A brilliant first half save to deny Isak. Apart from that, made some good efforts but those went in vain.

CB - Taylor Harwood-Bellis: 5

Again unfortunate that his teammates gave open spaces to Newcastle. Came close to leveling the score early in the second half.

CB - Jan Bednarek: 6

Towering header to put the Saints in front. Later, denied Joelinton from adding a fourth goal.

CB - James Bree: 5

Assisted Bednarek on the opener but his communication with the Polish defender must improve quickly.

LWB - Ryan Manning: 4

Operated as a wide attacker in the match. Defensively, struggled as the rest of the team.

RWB - Kyle Walker-Peters: 5

Made a brilliant run down the right before passing to Bree on the first goal.

CM - Joe Aribo: 5

Harshly punished by the referee on the penalty call. Good positioning to avoid the rebound effort after Murphy struck the post.

CM - Lesley Ugochukwu: 4

Felt off the pace yesterday after playing two intense matches last week.

CAM - Mateus Fernandes: 6

Scored a well taken goal, only to be disallowed later. Sparked creativity into an otherwise dull attack.

ST - Paul Onuachu: 6

Worked hard all game but didn't receive a good delivery as in the previous game. Ivan Juric must find a way to get Onuachu more involved inside the box.