Coming up against National League opposition in the form of Hampshire neighbours Eastleigh on Friday night, Southampton showcased the ruthlessness and quality of a Premier League side to secure a 7-1 victory, with summer arrival Yukinari Sugawara bagging his first goal for the club.
Fresh from signing a new three-year deal at St Mary’s Stadium earlier in the day, Adam Armstrong netted a brilliant brace for the visiting Saints during the opening 17 minutes of the Spitfires thrashing, with the 27-year-old desperate to prove he can be a serious threat in the top flight.
Following a promotion-winning campaign during his first year in charge of the South Coast club, Russell Martin will be relishing a week in Spain to further instil his footballing philosophy, whilst also integrating a number of new signings from this summer’s transfer market.
With the permanent acquisition of Flynn Downes from West Ham United for £18m understandably stealing the headlines, the arrivals of Charlie Taylor and Adam Lallana as free agents have gone under the radar slightly, with the pair set to provide lots of Premier League knowhow as part of a talented, yet relatively-inexperienced group.
As mentioned earlier, Southampton will take to the pre-season field twice during their week-long stay in Spain, facing off against Bordeaux on Wednesday morning before a meeting with Montpellier on Saturday, when the Saints will test themselves against top-tier opposition for the first time this summer.
After finishing bottom of Ligue 1 during an ill-fated 2021-22 season, Bordeaux will be desperately aiming to make it third time lucky and return to the top table of French football in 2025, but the club’s woeful fortunes of late suggest that their second-tier stay could continue far into the decade.
Les Girondins placed 12th in an 18-team Ligue 2 during the 2023-24 campaign, coming up massively short of the playoff positions, with the six-time French champions currently enduring a significant fall from grace considering that they were competing in Europe as recently as 2018.
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Following a playing career which included spells at Liverpool and Manchester City, Albert Riera was handed the Bordeaux job after taking his first roles in management at NK Olimpija Ljubljana and Celje in Slovenia, with the Spaniard now tasked with guiding the French club back towards their former heights.
Despite operating in the second tier of French football, Les Girondins have a pair of attacking stars who graced the continental’s biggest stage over the course of the summer, with Zan Vipotnik and Zuriko Davitashvili representing Slovenia and Georgia respectively at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Wednesday’s clash with the Premier League Saints will be Bordeaux’s first of their summer schedule, before further friendly tests versus Clermont, Niort and Angers arrive ahead of the all-important opening battle with Guingamp in Ligue 2 on August 17, the same day that Southampton commence their competitive action at Newcastle United
