Southampton: Hasenhuttl’s big claim about Saints’ display vs Chelsea

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl claims that his side’s performance in their win over Chelsea on Thursday was the best since he’s been at the club.

A 2-0 victory over the Blues – thanks to quality goals from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond – lifted Saints up to 14th place in the Premier League and saw Hasenhuttl’s men back to their best.

Hasenhuttl has now been in charge for just over a year and has had a mixed time to date, but his claims about this latest win shows the reaction that he has managed to get from his players in a difficult time.

Speaking to Amazon Prime at Stamford Bridge, the Austrian said:

"“We had by far the best performance this season and also the best performance since I’ve been here. I think we deserved this win because we were so committed and even brave on the ball sometimes when we had to be.”"

As Saints have come through a difficult time with consecutive wins over Aston Villa and now Chelsea, it is important to realise that Hasenhuttl has got important reactions from his players at crucial times in the last year.

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Since last December, Saints have had wins against Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea, whilst other good performances against the top six have been worthy of more.

Then in games against direct rivals at the bottom of the table, the result has largely been good – like when two wins came in a week earlier this campaign against Watford and Norwich.

Upcoming are league meetings with Crystal Palace – who have been impressively solid this year – and Spurs, who have had good results under new manager Jose Mourinho despite being leaky at the back.

Both games would have looked tough if Saints hadn’t recovered, but now they seem like fixtures that could produce more points.

The performances of some of the players in the Saints squad currently have also produced some important competition for places.

Che Adams and Michael Obafemi came into the team against Chelsea and looked both motivated and dangerous in attack, and they may well get another chance to impress in the upcoming FA Cup Third-Round clash with Huddersfield Town next weekend.