Russell Martin said he was "hurt" by Southampton's first-half performance and he did not recognise his side in an abject 3-1 loss to south coast rivals Bournemouth.
The Saints found themselves 3-0 down at the break at the Vitality Stadium on Monday as goals from Evanilson, Dango Ouattara and Antoine Semenyo had Bournemouth in cruise control.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis gave Southampton a fighting chance early in the second half but the damage was already done, leaving Martin's men winless and with a just a solitary point from six Premier League games.
"It [the first goal] disrupts everything, not just concentration. We started really well with two good moments in the game," the Southampton boss told Sky Sports.
"We showed the guys how Bournemouth like to play quick free-kicks, but we switched off in exactly the same way we did against [Manchester] United and we again didn't respond well after a set-back.
"I'm so hurt by the first-half performance after the first goal - I didn't recognise our team.
"Normally I'm proud of them for the courage they show, but there was no aggression, no courage, no intensity to play. They were in self-preservation mode on the pitch and the body language I didn't recognise.
"I didn't recognise them and I didn't like it one bit. In the second half we showed a lot of fight and courage but it was too late. It's on me to give them the tools to come back from a setback but we have not learned from the Manchester United game two weeks ago and that's a problem.
"We were soft. If you do not run and fight, make contact and take things personally then it's going to be a problem."
He added: "I have to question myself. I thought I made enough of a deal about how Bournemouth approach the game and how they are good at certain things but it looks like we were unprepared and considering the work we have done is crazy.
"I will never ever blame a group of players, we're together but I didn't like what I saw and am hurt by the lack of spirit and fight, that's nothing I've not told the team. It's my problem to sort out.
"I didn't identify my team in the first half in terms of attitude, spirit and fight. I didn't get this far as a player or a manager on just talent, it's about mentality and I've not passed that on enough to the players."
Semenyo scored his third Premier League goal of the season with a wonderful solo effort that rounded off an opening period of Bournemouth dominance, while the first was a bit of quick thinking from Marcus Tavernier to set up Evanilson's first for the club.
Semenyo told Sky Sports: "We watched a couple of videos in the meetings in the week and we knew we could catch them out with quick free-kicks.
"Buzzing for Evanilson - he is going be a problem this year."
On his own effort, he added: "It felt wonderful. I wanted to create space and get a shot away.
"It rifled in the bottom corner, a great finish."
Los Angeles FC v St. Louis City SC: Cherundolo hails 'unstoppable' Bouanga
Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo labelled Denis Bouanga as "unstoppable" when the forward is at his best.
Bouanga came off the bench to score the winner as LAFC beat FC Cincinnati 2-1 over the weekend.
That victory saw LAFC, fresh from winning the US Open Cup, clinch their spot in the playoffs.
Bouanga, who has scored 18 goals and set up a further eight in MLS this season, was not impressed with having to settle for a super-sub role, but Cherundolo cares not.
"Denis always wants to play; he never wants to rest," Cherundolo said.
"He was quite upset with me for not starting. And that's okay. Everybody can hate me, that's fine.
"But I think freshness and also making sure he's getting enough rest makes him also better.
"Obviously, he's physically capable of playing every game, but when he loses his explosiveness, he is still extremely good and we're happy to have him.
"But with explosiveness and freshness, he's unstoppable."
Ahead of playing St. Louis City SC on Wednesday, the challenge that now faces LAFC is to go on and secure a home playoff seed.
"To have that sort of response, it's going to be huge going forward for us," defender Ryan Hollingshead said after the win over Cincinnati.
"The team's already confident. And then you throw that result on top of it, I think it's going to be exactly what we need to go get a really good seed in the West moving forward and then go make another run for a cup."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LAFC - Kei Kamara
Kamara set up LAFC's opener against Cincinnati.
It was Kamara's 49th assist in MLS. He is now one away from becoming the fifth player in league history with 100 goals and 50 assists.
St. Louis City SC - Cedric Teuchert
Teuchert has recorded eight goal contributions in his first seven MLS matches (five goals, three assists), including three in Saturday's win over Sporting Kansas City.
He is the first player to record eight goal contributions in his first seven MLS matches since Alejandro Pozuelo (10) in 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION: LAFC WIN
St. Louis, who are 12th in the Western Conference, are unbeaten in four straight away matches for the first time in club history. Indeed, they have lost only six of their last 15 on the road dating back to the beginning of March (W1 D8).
However, LAFC are nevertheless backed by Opta's predictor. They have now hit 50 points in five of their six full MLS seasons, becoming one of two teams, along with the Philadelphia Union, to reach 50 points five times in the last six full seasons dating back to 2018 (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
The omens are good for LAFC, who are unbeaten against St. Louis, winning two of the three meetings (D1). In fact, LAFC have kept clean sheets in all three matches against St. Louis, making them the only opponent the latter have faced but never scored against.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LAFC - 62.1%
St. Louis City - 17.8%
Draw - 20%
Barcelona set €500m buyout clause for teenage gem Marc Bernal after 'contract adjustment'
Barcelona have set midfielder Marc Bernal's buyout clause at €500million and extended the 17-year-old's contract until June 2026, the LaLiga club said on Monday
When Spaniard Bernal will no longer be an Under-19 player in 2026, he will have an option to extend for an additional three years, Barca added.
Bernal ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Barca's 2-1 victory at Rayo Vallecano last month, where he was forced off the pitch in the final minutes.
A product of Barcelona's youth academy, Bernal has made three league appearances since his debut for the senior team in their LaLiga opener against Valencia.
"Barcelona and Marc Bernal have reached an agreement on an adjustment of the player's contract, which binds him to the club until 30 June 2026, when his status as an U19 player ends, with the option to three more years," a Barca statement read on Monday.
"The buyout clause has been set at €500million.
"Marc Bernal was, until his unfortunate injury, the huge sensation at the start of the season.
"After he joined manager Hansi Flick for the pre-season, the German coach was convinced that he was ready to move up to the next level.
"The club is convinced that he is a fabulous investment for the future and has reflected this belief with today's new deal."
Fonseca: Milan need to be defensively perfect against Leverkusen
Paulo Fonseca warned his Milan side they to be "defensively perfect" to get a result at Bayer Leverkusen in Tuesday's Champions League clash.
Milan suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool in their European opener despite Christian Pulisic firing the Rossoneri into a third-minute lead.
The Serie A giants will be looking to get off the mark at the Bay Arena but head coach Fonseca said they must be flawless at the back.
"I don't think about changing (much), we need to have continuity. We know it's a different game, (but) I think it will be a similar game to the one against Liverpool," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.
"Defensively I think the team has grown, it's a good test to see our defensive capabilities at the moment. I told the players that to beat a strong team like Leverkusen we need to make a defensively perfect team."
Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga champions began their campaign in Europe with a 4-0 win at Feyenoord but they have conceded 10 goals in their first five league games after letting in just 24 in 34 matches in the 2023-24 domestic season.
Seven-time European champions Milan, the only Italian side to triumph more than once in the Champions League era, are the top scorers in Serie A with 14 goals in six games this term.
"It is true that we have done well in the league in the last few games, but I have to say that Serie A is very different from these games we have in the Champions League," Fonseca said.
"Today I was made to read Xabi Alonso's words. When we talk about Italian teams, we always say the same thing - that (they) are good at defending and playing on the counter-attack. I would like other things to be said when we talk about Milan.
"We don't want to be like that. Tomorrow we will obviously defend because we will play against a very strong team, but when we have the ball we still want to play.
"I'm curious to see the team's behaviour in a different game to those we had in Serie A."
Milan may be without Spanish striker Alvaro Morata, who opened the scoring in their 3-0 home win against Lecce on Friday despite starting with a slight knock.
"He (Morata) made a big effort to play the last match," Fonseca said. "He is doubtful and we will manage him. Let's see how he is tomorrow. We don't want to take any risks."
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