Win over Liverpool brings Ralph Hasenhuettl to tears, Latest Football News - The New Paper
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Win over Liverpool brings Ralph Hasenhuettl to tears

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl shed tears of joy and collapsed to his knees at the final whistle after an early Danny Ings strike secured the Saints a shock 1-0 English Premier League win over champions Liverpool yesterday morning (Singapore time).

The Austrian's emotional celebrations might have led some fans to think that Southampton had just secured the English Premier League title.

But, as wins over Liverpool are a rare occurrence for the Saints - with the last one coming in the league almost five years ago - it was an occasion to savour for Hasenhuettl, who took charge of the south-coast club in 2018.

"There were tears in my eyes - because of the wind!" he jokingly told BBC Sport.

"When you see our guys fighting with everything they have, it makes me really proud.

"You need to have the perfect game against Liverpool and I think we did have that."

Hasenhuettl's team were forced to defend for long periods in the second half, and he admitted that it was deep into stoppage time before he felt that his side could get a result.

"It felt like we were under massive pressure and the defending around the box was the key today - then still try and play football.

"We did it in a good way," he said.

In contrast, his Liverpool counterpart Juergen Klopp was left extremely frustrated after his attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane failed to find the net despite dominating possession in the second half.

"What was disappointing? How long have we got?" he told the BBC. "The start, obviously, not only the goal but the start...

"Congratulations to Southampton, they deserved it." - REUTERS

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