Manolo Gabbiadini probably does not know too much about the late Bobby Stokes, who became one of Southampton’s greatest heroes after scoring against Manchester United in a Wembley showpiece. That was in the FA Cup final of 1976, when Stokes conjured the only goal of the game to secure the club’s first piece of major silverware.
Gabbiadini did everything within his power to update those old images; to reacquaint the club with that glorious feeling and his performance was the outstanding facet of a gripping EFL Cup final. The January signing from Napoli scored twice to haul his team back from 2-0 down and the arguments would rage long into the night as to why he had another one chalked off, wrongly, for offside in the 11th minute.
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