[ad_1]
Ralph Hasenhuttl praised his players after Southampton rose to the top of the Premier League, but admits he was not surprised by his team’s rise.
The Saints reached the top of the Premier League for the first time in their history after beating Newcastle 2-0 at St Mary’s on Friday night. A goal in the seventh minute by Che Adams gave the locals an early lead and they closed the victory in the 82nd minute through Stuart Armstrong.
A year ago, Southampton were in the bottom three of the Premier League, but the Austrian believes his team is now showing its development and the fruits of its investment both off the field and on training ground, away from the pressure of playing. in front of the followers.
Ralph Hasenhuttl shakes hands with Adams at the final whistle
“It’s amazing what my team is doing right now,” he said. Sky sports. “Congratulations to everyone on the field and to the team. Incredible. Maybe we could have scored more, but the rest was perfect. Everyone was at the highest level. It’s a bit scary what we’re doing right now to be honest, but not surprising. “. when I see what we are working on.
“We could have closed the game, earlier, that was definitely possible. The way we played through the lines was fantastic to watch. So we can make the last pass and final decision even better, but this is a high-level criticism. We know that it is not so easy to create many chances against these teams.
“We are a strong team and this is not a coincidence, as we have developed every part of our game. Our game management has been very brave and I think it has helped us in some situations where there are no people in the stadium as well. that we can develop our game. There is not so much stress now, and we have gotten used to it. As a result, we now have a more complete game. “
Che Adams rattles Theo Walcott’s cross to put the Saints in front
Hasenhuttl’s men dominated possession and chances as they sealed a comfortable victory that saw them replace Liverpool at the top of the table ahead of this weekend’s games.
The Saints were last at the top of English football 32 years ago under Chris Nicholl, marking a remarkable 12 months for the Austrian manager since his 9-0 defeat of Leicester last October.
Stuart Armstrong sealed the win to put Southampton on top of the league
Hasenhuttl added: “I’m happy for the fans that we are at the top of the league right now, but the season is very long. We have a very intense period at Christmas, but the team is very well balanced. We have restructured a few things. And this now shows that the players are stepping up.
“It’s the first time we’ve gotten three wins in a row and that was today’s goal. It’s the first time we’ve added three points to Newcastle like the last three we’ve lost. For now, but it’s only for a few moments. Of course, it is good for the fans and the players. For me, it’s important that we be hungry and not back down. “
3:03
Inconsistency frustrates Bruce
2:35
Newcastle, who had yet to be beaten away from home in the Premier League this season and headed to the game on the south coast in good shape, having beaten Everton 2-1 in their previous match, but often lacked control and only made four shots. during the game.
“Certainly the best team won,” Newcastle boss Steve Bruce said. Sky sports. “We didn’t get anywhere near where we were five days ago. We didn’t take good enough care of the ball and gave them two goals. We didn’t do enough to win the game. We didn’t handle the press and it was a difficult night.
“The only thing you can’t do at this level is give them the goals we made. We hit the ball too often. We knew what to expect from them, the full press, and unfortunately we couldn’t get past it.
1:14
“The first 15 minutes were probably our worst stage after half time. We couldn’t get out. We keep giving the ball back to them and when you’re in that situation it becomes difficult. Congratulations to Southampton for the night. They were much better than us and we couldn’t deal with they.
“We go up and down too fast. That’s one thing we have to figure out. We’re doing well and all of a sudden we’re not playing well enough in the game. It bothers me.”
Whats Next?
Southampton will travel to face Wolves on Saturday, November 21 after the international break; start 3pm.
Newcastle will host Chelsea at St James’ Park at 12.30pm the same day.
[ad_2]
