The incredible Tino Livramento stat and 13-second clip that had St James' Park on its feet
Tino Livramento was named man of the match following Wednesday night's 1-0 win over Man City, putting in a superb to get the better of Jack Grealish.
That in itself was impressive enough on his St James' Park debut, alongside his eight tackles and three interceptions, yet the fact it was his was first competitive start since he tore his ACL back in April 2022 makes it all the more incredible.
The 20-year-old was sidelined for over a year by a serious knee injury suffered in the final weeks of the 2021/22 season. He made two late substitute appearances at the end of Southampton's 2022/23 campaign, but Wednesday night was his first competitive start since he was stretchered off at the Amex 18 months ago.
Considering his age, the severity of that injury, his long spell on the sidelines and the quality of yesterday's opponents, he was absolutely outstanding. Not only did he keep Grealish quiet all night, he showed superb fitness levels and quality at both ends of the pitch to get up and down the line all night.
Talking of energetic displays, the electric Anthony Gordon made a huge difference in the second half and got St James' Park on their feet with a moment that summed up our all-action approach.
Gordon sprinted from one side of the pitch to the other before sending Mateo Kovacic into touch with a brilliant slide tackle, which drew a huge roar from the home crowd and even applause from Pep Guardiola! Watch the moment below, followed by a compilation of Livramento's man of the match display:
'Intensity is our identity', Eddie Howe once said, and both Livramento and Gordon brought that in abundance last night!
