Hasenhüttl: An important point
Manager Ralph Hasenhüttl labelled the 1-1 draw with Chelsea as ‘important’, as his side brought an end to a run of six straight defeats in the Premier League.
Takumi Minamino’s well-taken goal gave the hosts the lead at the halfway stage, before Mason Mount levelled from the penalty spot after the restart.
With chances at a premium, Jannik Vestergaard went closest to a winner when his header came back off the crossbar, but with the spoils shared, Hasenhüttl was pleased to see an end to Saints' recent run of defeats.
“I’m very happy because of the negative run we’ve had over the last few weeks, so it was important to take this point.
“It feels good and was definitely a deserved reward for the hard work we do here and for us it’s a big step forward now.
“We showed some good defending today and offensively it was a beautiful goal. It was what we’ve tried to work on during the week and it was perfect.
“We had a few more opportunities, although not 100% chances. The chance from Jannik was maybe the biggest one and was a little bit unlucky, but in the end it was an important point for us.
“It’s tough to play against this shape when they setup like this. It’s always clear that you don’t have a lot of possession.
“I think they didn’t play their best game today, but also a little bit on us that they didn’t do it.”
