Southampton take fight to 10-man Inter but Antonio Candreva strike earns spoils

The Southampton manager Claude Puel dismissed suggestions his rotation system was responsible for their “unlucky” Europa League defeat against Internazionale.

Antonio Candreva’s exceptional second-half goal secured an important victory for Inter at San Siro that prevented their visitors from building a lead at the top of Group K.

One of the most glamorous fixtures in Southampton’s history concluded with them third in the group when they could have taken a significant step towards reaching the knockout stages. Despite being reduced to 10 men after Marcelo Brozovic’s red card, Inter are back in contention after winning their first points.

Defeat also came after Puel made six changes from the starting XI he had selected in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat of Burnley – an injury suffered by Matt Targett meant one was forced upon him – which included the goalscorers Charlie Austin and Nathan Redmond.

It seemed a surprising decision to also rest Steven Davis, Jordy Clasie and José Fonte. In their absence, Jay Rodriguez, Shane Long, James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Maya Yoshida were selected. There was also a full debut at left-back for the one-time winger Sam McQueen, who replaced the injured Matt Targett in Puel’s sixth change.

Asked if his changes had disrupted his team, Puel responded: “No. We have all the time fresh players to play good football. This is very, very important. Not all the players can play good football [if they play every game]. It’s important to consider all the players. We want to go for the qualification with all the squad and not just 11 players.

“We can see [we played a] good game with the quality against Inter away it is difficult to think and to answer the question. It’s a very, very good game and unlucky. We are just unlucky.”

Southampton had a fine chance to score in the ninth minute when Jay Rodriguez conceded possession after hesitating from a shooting position. Perhaps a somewhat disjointed performance was inevitable but Rodriguez may reflect that had he shown greater confidence this could have been an important goal. He is still to truly recover from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in 2014 and at times it showed.

In the 28th minute McQueen’s cross was spilt by Samir Handanovic against Long. The ball then rolled past the goalkeeper and towards the goal before Yuto Nagatomo raced back to clear.

Austin was introduced as a 48th-minute substitute when Long indicated an injury, but if there was optimism that his directness would make a difference it soon vanished when Inter took the lead.

A Rodriguez header had been disallowed for a foul when, from nowhere and with little threat, Davide Santon – once of Newcastle United – sent a left-wing cross into Southampton’s area. From there, Candreva produced a powerful finish into the roof of the net beyond Fraser Forster. Southampton already looked defeated.

Brozovic’s dismissal, for a second yellow card after a foul on Hojbjerg, presented an opportunity but the closest Saints came to an equaliser was wasted in the 82nd minute by Virgil van Dijk.

Ward-Prowse’s classy cross left the defender with the simplest of chances from directly in front of goal but he sent his shot straight at Handanovic.

Puel also recognised the return against Inter in a fortnight has become “interesting”, while Van Dijk told BT Sport: “We were the only team that deserved to win and to concede a goal with their only chance frustrated.

“We should have had the game dead and buried in the first half but that is what happens if you don’t take your chances. I had a big chance with my left foot and a header. We had so many opportunities to win the game.”

The result also relieved some of the pressure that had been building on the Inter manager, Frank de Boer, and the Dutchman said: “They created some very dangerous chances. We knew that they were very dangerous. At first there were small chances for both of us. Luckily we have a great goalkeeper, he was unbelievable. The result for the group? It’s very important for us.”