In the 8th round match of the English Premier League on October 19th, Southampton lost to Leicester City 2-3 in Beijing time. After the match, Southampton manager Russell Martin accepted the media interview and gave an in-depth analysis and summary of the match.
Russell Martin began by talking about the impact of the red card on the game: "I think the red card changed the course of the game. We started the game really well and played well in the beginning of the second half, but their goal almost came out of nowhere. Then Ryan Fraser was sent off and that made the game very difficult. I thought we started the second half with more energy than we ended the first, but we didn't take our chances to score the third goal. The red card completely changed the landscape of the game."
On the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) call, Russell Martin said, "I have nothing to complain about VAR. It is what it is, the referee made his decision and we have to accept it."
Speaking about the goal after extra time had expired, Russell Martin said, "The referee has the right to add time to injury time as he sees it. He had told our players that was the last action, so we had to go all out on defense. Unfortunately, we weren't able to defend that goal."
On what he would say to the players next, Russell Martin said, "I'll let them understand what hurt us, what made us take a 2-0 lead in a very good performance only to lose. But right now, everyone is in an emotional state, so I can't give any helpful information. I'll let everyone digest the result of this game and then move on."
On the support of the fans, Russell Martin expressed his gratitude, "The fans have been great since I've been here. I'm not sure the boos are directed at the team because the players have given it their all. All I really need is the support of the fans, they've been great."
In response to some fans questioning his future, Russell Martin responded, "I don't have much to say other than I need to keep working hard and we need to win games. I hope the fans always show up to support their team, they've been amazing."
