Koeman targets maximum points after ‘important’ win

Mark Scott
Ronald Koeman: Close to beating last year's points total

Ronald Koeman: Close to beating last year's points total

Ronald Koeman hailed his attacking trio following Southampton’s 4-2 win against Manchester City and has set his sights on eclipsing last year’s points tally.

A hat-trick from Sadio Mane, an opening goal from Shane Long and a valuable contribution from Dusan Tadic saw Southampton rise above Liverpool into seventh and two points behind sixth-placed West Ham who have a game in hand.

“It’s very good to win against teams like City. You have to be at your best,” said Koeman.

“The first 45 minutes we played great football. Even in the second half we did everything you need to do.

“I like football and I like a team who play from the beginning to win the game. Our three forward players did a phenomenal job. Dusan Tadic, if he gets some freedom, he’s dangerous.

“It’s an important win because we are still fighting for Europe. We have passed Liverpool and that’s good. We need two more wins.

“Last year was a fantastic season with 60 points. We have 57 now – maybe we can do better than last season, which would be incredible.”