Hasenhuttl claims Southampton created ‘bigger chances’ than Liverpool
Ralph Hasenhuttl claimed that Southampton had “the bigger chances” in their defeat against Liverpool, ruing their failure to convert them.
Southampton’s winless run extended into a fifth game in all competitions as they lost 2-0 at Anfield. Their former player Sadio Mane set up the victory with a header before Thiago Alcantara confirmed the result. Saints are 16th in the table as a result.
It would take some twist of events for them to be sucked into the relegation zone. However, they are not mathematically safe just yet.
Hasenhuttl took enough confidence from their performance, though, praising the chances they created.
He told Sky Sports: “We had maybe the bigger chances as we had a few one-on-ones, the biggest from Che Adams at the end to get the equaliser.
“We showed some good, great football and kept the game open until we conceded the second goal. When you don’t take the chances…
“It’s always both. On the one side there is a goalkeeper who you know is good but when you are one-on-one in front of him it can be more difficult some times. In the end we cannot take something from it.
“We played through the lines and had some good counter-attacks. It was a good balance in the game.
“We tried to be brave and took a lot of risks. We very often played out but the final action or finish was not clinical enough to take something.”
Klopp reacts to win
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool would keep fighting for a top-four place after their hard-fought win over Southampton.
Klopp admitted that the game required their concentration for its full duration due to how tough Southampton made it.
He told BBC Sport: “We knew before [it would be tough]. The only way I know on winning is to work really hard and that’s what we did tonight.
“They are well organised and have an intense style of play. They had their moments. We set up their biggest chance ourselves but we deserved the three points.
“We scored a really nice first goal. But it’s familiar for us now to not finish the game early, so we had to stay in the game and scoring a wonderful second goal obviously was a big relief. We had to fight, we got the three points, really good.”
READ MORE: Klopp rates top-four chances for Liverpool after outlining Thiago importance in Southampton win