Southampton: Hasenhuttl praises “fit” Saints side after win over Norwich

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has praised his side’s fitness after seeing them return to action with a convincing 3-0 win over Norwich City.

Saints took a little while to click into gear at Carrow Road on Friday but some flowing attacking moves and clinical finishing in the second-half saw them as deserved winners.

After watching his players claim another vital three points, Hasenhuttl was pleased with what he saw from a physical and performance point of view.

Speaking to the media, via southamptonfc.com, he said:

"“We showed a very committed and a good organised performance. It was a deserved win.“I must say that the impression I had is that the guys returned fit. They worked very hard in the break and did their jobs at home. We’ve been working hard the last few weeks to push again for 90 minutes, without our fans. Because normally they help us to win games but today we tried to be sharp without them.”"

Playing in the pressing style that Hasenhuttl uses and maintaining levels of performance throughout each game really does require Saints to be fit.

Some matches during the 2019/20 season have seen things really work well and the pressing tactics stifle the opposition.

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Others have seen parts of the system exposed though with Hasenhuttl constantly helping his players learn his ways to carry out their specific jobs on the pitch in a more successful manner.

An inconsistent campaign to date is an indication that things can still be improved further, whilst Friday’s showing is perhaps a sign of how useful breaks in the season are to a team playing high-intensity football.

Saints did have to see off some dangerous spells from Norwich, but their counter-attacking eventually won the game in brutal fashion.

Danny Ings put them in front with a quick reaction and finish that suggested a three-month lockdown had not affected him at all, and he then turned provider.

Possession was won in midfield and the ball given to Nathan Redmond, who in turn gave it to Ings just inside the home half. The striker then poked a pass out to Stuart Armstrong, and he did the rest by cutting inside onto his left foot and firing a low strike inside the near post.

Norwich failed to do anything with their possession as Saints sprung forward quickly time and time again, and a similar break produced a third goal for the visitors.

Ings was again involved after winning the ball back strongly before flicking a pass through to Michael Obafemi. The youngster got his head up well and picked out Redmond just outside the box, and the former Norwich man skipped around a limp challenge before finishing expertly across goal.

With the players still in peak condition to play is Hasenhuttl’s style, more performances like this could be on their way between now and the end of the season.