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SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) – Ralph Hasenhuttl described his Southampton side’s form as terrifying after a 2-0 win over Newcastle United put the south coast club atop the Premier League for the first time. time on Friday.
An early volley from Che Adams and a late hit from Stuart Armstrong hardly did justice to a vibrant display by the Saints as they posted their fifth league win of the season.
Despite losing their first two games, Southampton have 16 points from eight games and are ahead of champions Liverpool in goal difference. They will stay there until Sunday at least if Everton fail to beat visiting Manchester United on Saturday.
“It’s amazing what my team is doing right now,” the Austrian coach, who has transformed Southampton in the last 12 months after a 9-0 home loss to Leicester City, told Sky Sports.
“Maybe we could have scored a few more today, but the rest was almost perfect. Good game management and everyone was at the highest level. It’s a little scary what we’re doing right now, but it’s not as surprising how I see them working. “
The performance was all the more impressive as main forward Danny Ings was out after knee surgery.
But in Theo Walcott, playing his first home game after returning to his childhood club on loan from Everton, Adams and Armstrong, Southampton looked powerful in attack.
Captain James Ward-Prowse pulled the strings in midfield while former Chelsea player Oriol Romeu was dangerous and was only denied one goal for the wood.
“Che is amazing in the box. I think it was important to show that even without Danny we have the quality to score,” Hasenhuttl said. “Theo’s workload was incredible too.”
Southampton are reaping the rewards for refusing to panic after the debacle against Leicester and from a team that for much of last season seemed headed for relegation now seems capable of challenging for a European spot.
“We have invested a lot in this time together,” Hasenhuttl said. “We have made great strides forward and this is no coincidence. With the ball and without the ball, we are very brave. Perhaps playing without fans has helped us because there is a lack of stress. Now we are playing a full game.”
Steve Bruce’s team at Newcastle had also started the season reasonably well and could have entered the top five with a win, but they were not effective at St Mary’s.
“The goals we gave away probably summed up our night. We gave it away too cheaply and too often,” he said. “The best team won. We didn’t do enough against a very good team from Southampton.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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