The game against the Italians kicked off with the rumour that Charly Alcaraz was wanted by Lazio, but by the end of the game, after the Argentinian had sparked a 15 a side on pitch brawl, including the coaching staff, that transfer might well be dead before its got going.

Given this was the penultimate pre season friendly, Russell Martin once again put out a rather mixed starting XI, certainly you would think far removed from the starting XI for the trip to Newcastle in just 10 days time.

But the game started with a bang when on just 5 minutes, Sam Amo Ameyaw having had two good chances, it was Ben Brereton Diaz who scored it taking a superb pass from Charley Alcaraz and cutting across the box before firing home to put Saints ahead.

But Lazio slowly clawed their way back into the game and equalised on 30 minutes with a superb goal that Matt Le Tissier would have been proud to call his own.

They nearly made it two shortly after when Alex Mcarthy dashed out for a ball he was never going to get and Manuel Lazzari poked it past him towards the open goal, luckily his shot went just wide.

At the break it was still even, but you sensed that Lazio were on top and it was not helped by the fact that Alex McCarthy was clearly struggling to play the possession football game.

The visitors started the game better and really should have scored when they hit the underside of the bar, on 57 minutes they hit the bar again and caught Saints at sixes and sevens and Castellanos really should have hit the target from close range.

Tempers flared just about on the hour mark, an initial foul by Shea Charles saw Charly Alcaraz and Lazio's Danilo Cataldi clash before things then got out of hand between Alcaraz and Alessio Romagnoli, and then players and staff from both sides charged into the melee. The end result after everyone was separated and the situation calmed was a red card for both Alcaraz and Romagnoli.

That calmed the game a little and the pace slowed, although for the final half hour it was punctuated by niggling fouls that saw the ref book players from both sides.

Both sides could have won the game, not least Sam Edozie who saw his shot saved by the keeper in the final minute.

So what did we find from this game ?

In truth it was difficult to tell because it was hardly our first XI, starting at the back lex McCarthy although making a couple of decent saves, did not look comfortable throughout the game, almost getting caught out on a couple of occasions and his distribution wasn't great, this clearly affected his decision making and he did not look happy.

Sam Edozie looked lively when he came on as did Joe Aribo and Tyler Dibling.

Likewise Charly Alcaraz, he would have impressed Lazio who were linked with a move for him pre game, but that might have gone out of the window after his clash with several of their players and coaching staff.

Overall I would say Russell Martin would be pleased with the draw and it would have answered a few questions for him and indeed highlighted areas we need to improve, but we already knew those areas, Goalkeeper, Centre Forward & Midfield.

Ok we rode our luck a little, but we also had chances where we should have scored or done better, given that this was far from our first XI, it was about finding out about the squad, not those that we know can play, such as the unused subs, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Downes & Armstrong.

Now we look to Getafe on Saturday for the final pre season friendly before the season's opener at Newcastle, I would say we can sweat to the end of the transfer window for the striker and midfielder, but we desperately need a keeper who can play with his feet, better than McCarthy or else Martin changes his tactics slightly as he did in the final games of the season to accommodate our keeper.

Southampton: McCarthy, Bree, Edwards (Stephens 77), Wood, Manning (Dibling 46), Taylor (Sugawara 86), Charles, Amo-Ameyaw (Aribo 72), Alcaraz, Brereton Díaz (Edozie 46), Mara (Smallbone 72).

Unused substitutes: Lis, Lumley, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Downes, Armstrong.

Photo: Action Images

Flamingbankers added 22:34 - Aug 7 Here's hoping Charley stays but learns to control that temper. Maybe a bit of a result for us - him getting involved in a fracas.
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StEdmund added 23:08 - Aug 7 Just like the good old days of Bremner, Souness, our own lovely Jimmy Case and Psycho Dennis. Passion and aggression. Charly is what we need in the team to keep us in the PL. Don't sell him!
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IanRC added 23:31 - Aug 7 Thought this was a wasted opportunity to get in some useful game time for our better player to gel. Notwithstanding the sending off I thought Alcaraz was great and we should definitely make an effort to keep him. As others have said McCarthy is a disaster waiting to happen when we try to play the passing game from the back. Agree we definitely need to sign or try another keeper. Still no sign of the striker we need or indeed of someone to replace the creativity of Stuart Armstrong. Dibling definitely deserves a run in the first team along with Alcaraz. Where is KWP, the potential replacements don't look up to it.

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JoeEgg added 06:50 - Aug 8 Never mind McCarthy being a disaster waiting to happen, the whole team is a disaster waiting to happen! Week after week it is clear what we need and still with a few days to go before the start of the season we are without a decent goalkeeper and a quality central striker, and many of our players are simply not up to PL standard. If Martin thinks that this team is good enough to play possession football in the Premier League then he is very quickly going to be in for a nasty shock. Time is running out and the last thing we need is an embarrassing start to the League season.

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Bowlercow added 09:55 - Aug 8 I don't see any need to be pessemistic yet The bundle showed that the whole squad is united and up for it As always Alcaraz will go if the right offer comes in But that applies to all our players
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dellboysaint added 11:00 - Aug 8 Keep Charlie. He adds unpredictability and can win games. Still no goalkeeper yet which is a disaster in the making. I thought McCarthy played alright in the play offs because we adapted our system to accommodate him. Martin must not be predictable and should mix it up as we did against WBA and Leeds. Goalkeepers can win you games, just look at Pickford and Everton. McCarthy is too much of a second string and teams know it.

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highfield49 added 11:08 - Aug 8 I'm hardly in a position to give advice to professional players but in McCarthy's case I'd say just hoof the ball into touch if you're under pressure. With Lis and Lumley the only other senior goalkeepers on the books it's hardly likely you're going to get dropped for not following the passing game edict. On the other hand the club could just sign a top class 'keeper in the days ahead and put us out of our misery.

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Monksway added 16:01 - Aug 8 I can't believe that RM be pragmatic and avoid some of the crazier short passing around in the penalty area with McCarthy. A battering by Newcastle is all too possible and would be a disaster for confidence. If we give up the same chances to Newcastle as we did last night we'll get punished. Hopefully, for all the bluster about playing our game etc etc RM will be sensible and have a back five of Yuki, THB, Stephens, Bednarek and Taylor with Small one, Downes and Aribo in midfield and Arma and BBD upfront. Alcaraz, Dibling and Sam Amo deserve to make the bench.It won't be pretty but we might get a point. Welcome back to the Prem.

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