Southampton 3-1 Montpellier: Spain pre-season player ratings

Kamaldeen Sulemana converted a rebound from a poor penalty attempt inside three minutes of the match before Tyler Dibling netted the second.

Montpellier grabbed one back with a free-kick but substitute Taylor Harwood-Bellis connected with a header to restore the two-goal lead.

Here is how we rated the players from out here in Girona... 

Kamaldeen Sulemana opened the scoring with a penalty (Image: Matt Watson / Southampton FC)

Starters

Alex McCarthy - 6.

Nearly spilled one but recovered and made an exceptional save at his near-post shortly after. Could he have done better with the free-kick? Pass straight to striker went unpunished. 

Yukinari Sugawara - 7.

Solid outing for the new signing. Looked good throughout, bar a couple of problems with the Montpellier left-winger. Brilliant cross for Harwood-Bellis's goal.

Ronnie Edwards - 8. 

Really impressive 45 minutes from the 21 year old. Covered the spaces in behind him well and was there to meet it. Only beaten once by this. Excellent ball and assist for Dibling.

Jan Bednarek - 8.

Was on it from the first minute and did some important defensive work. Displayed his passing range with one crossfield pass early on. Impressive welcome back for him. 

Charlie Taylor - 7.

Solid signing again and had a good outing except for two moments where he was caught drifting forward. Otherwise, composed and precise in his passing.  

Flynn Downes - 8. 

Everywhere on the pitch, particularly in the first half. Made several big tackles and was his usual excellent self. Not too much else to say other than impressive. 

Will Smallbone - 7.

Missed an early chance but was constantly a step ahead of the opposition, forcing them to look to foul him. Will be a key player this season. 

Joe Aribo - 8. 

Really strong and technically impressive. A bully in the midfield and has impressed Saints staff so far this pre-season. Regularly retained possession in tight areas. 

Kamaldeen Sulemana - 6.

Terrible penalty and was really fortunate to be given a second chance to convert it. Sometimes aimless with his movement but responded well to pitch-side coaching. 

Sam Edozie - 7. 

Edozie won Southampton's early penalty well but missed two chances not too much harder than open goals. They marked him down but was good going back and forward.

Tyler Dibling - 8.

Acclimatising to a new false nine position but grew really well into the game. Started off with some sloppy touches and needed coaching. Became a threat and took chance so well.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored from the bench (Image: Matt Watson / Southampton FC)

Substitutes (HT)

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - 8.

Great header to score Southampton's third goal of the game and otherwise solid. Was a vocal leader and could be heard orchestrating Amo-Ameyaw. 

Nathan Wood - 7. 

Steady operator with not too much to shout about but looked slick in possession and didn't have any defensive problems. 

Sekou Mara - 5.

Missed the penalty in shambolic fashion and did not do much else. Did pick up some good areas where he was not found by his teammates but otherwise unimpressive. 

Sam Amo-Ameyaw - 8. 

Lots of creative ideas and regularly involved after he entered the pitch. Worked really hard to make things happen, set up O'Brien-Whitmarsh for one and won a penalty.

Substitiutes (60')

James Bree - 7.

Huge tackle on the Montpellier player messing around in front of the goal to prevent the concession. Steady operator. Has a good chance of being backup this season. 

Ryan Manning - 7. 

Continuing his inverted full-back role stepping into midfield for the final 30 minutes of the match. Has clearly worked on it over the summer, looked comfortable in possession.

Shea Charles - 6.

Goes under the radar again but took up some decent advanced positions. Did not do anything wrong but was coached on the side twice after picking up wrong man while marking.

Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh - 6.

Good run in behind but didn't quite choose between crossing and shooting quick enough and asked too much of Alcaraz. More comfortable in natural role and linked well with Amo-Ameyaw. 

Charly Alcaraz - 6.

Worked hard to try and make an impression but didn't really do anything of note. Still question marks over where he fits in this team, Dibling is ahead of him. 

Jay Robinson - 6.

Looked lively without impacting the game. Good experience for the 17 year old to be with the first team staff and players for a full week overseas.