Saints finish pre-season with win over Köln

A first-half penalty from Danny Ings and a second-half strike from captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg sealed the latest in a long line of encouraging results over the summer for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team.

Saints now head into their opening Premier League game of the season, away to Burnley next Saturday, off the back of an unbeaten pre-season, having earned four wins and a draw in their friendly encounters over the past few weeks.

Hasenhüttl was not in the dugout for the game himself, having undergone a minor procedure on a leg injury, but remained in contact with his coaching staff via video link, and would no doubt have been pleased with much of what he saw.

He sent his team out with three centre-backs, in the shape of Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens and Jannik Vestergaard, flanked by wing-backs Yan Valery and Ryan Bertrand, who supported the midfield pairing of James Ward-Prowse and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, and the attacking trio of Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings and Ché Adams.

As he had done in each of his three pre-season games to this point, in which he had scored inside six minutes every time, summer signing Adams made a telling early impact.

It wasn’t via a goal this time, but it was almost as significant, as he burst into the right-side of the area and was bundled over from behind by Rafael Czichos, with referee Jon Moss pointing to the penalty spot.

Ings stepped up to take the resulting kick, calmly sending the keeper the wrong way and rolling the ball into the bottom-left corner.

A sharp save from Angus Gunn followed soon after, as Jhon Andres Cordoba got free down the left and looked to curl a shot into the far corner, before Saints almost doubled the lead on 12 minutes, as Adams showed great strength to win the ball outside the box, before turning and sliding a pass into the path of Bertrand’s run, whose first-time effort was saved brilliantly by Timo Horn in the Köln goal.

Horn then came to the visitors’ rescue again, when Saints were awarded a second spot kick of the game, on 22 minutes, as Højbjerg was shoulder-charged to the ground by Kingsley Osezele Ehizibue in the area.

Ings, anticipating the keeper would commit himself to one side again, this time tried a delicate chip down the middle, but Horn didn’t budge and gratefully received the ball into his arms.

The score stayed the same through to half-time, with neither keeper seriously tested again in the opening 45 minutes.

Saints made one change at the break, as goalscorer Ings made way for Michael Obafemi.

Köln’s own half-time substitute, Kingsley Schindler, missed a decent chance less than three minutes after the restart, stretching for a shot and firing over from eight yards after controlling a ball across the area into his path.

Anthony Modeste also made a mess of his lines a few minutes later, as he was twice picked out by low deliveries into him at close range in the space of a few seconds, stabbing a shot wide from an excellent position with the second attempt.

Having survived those scares, Saints doubled their lead on 53 minutes with the best move of the game.

Ward-Prowse’s beautiful lofted pass down the right found Obafemi, who cut back and played a pass inside to Højbjerg 20 yards out. The Saints skipper, in turn, slid a first-time ball in behind for the run of Adams, who, having drawn the keeper towards him, squared it back into the path of Højbjerg for a simple tap-in from six yards.

A series of changes were then made just after the hour mark, as Cédric, Maya Yoshida, Oriol Romeu, Sofiane Boufal and Shane Long all came on, in place of Bertrand, Stephens, Ward-Prowse, Redmond and Adams.

After Højbjerg went close with a blistering free-kick on 71 minutes, which flew only half-a-yard over from long distance, Saints sent on Stuart Armstrong, who replaced Vestergaard for the final 15 minutes.

Saints fans then got their first glimpse of Moussa Djenepo, as the Mali winger who joined earlier in the summer from Standard Liège, was introduced for Obafemi in the 79th minute.

It was another positive moment on a good afternoon for Hasenhüttl’s side, whose attention now turns to the start of the real thing.