RED CARD HAS JUST WRECKED US SAYS RALPH
RALPH HASENHUTTL labelled Pierre-emile Hojbjerg’s late red card “a disaster” for Saints.
Captain Hojbjerg was dismissed for a wild 85th-minute foul on Fernandinho in Southampton’s 3-1 defeat by Manchester City and will now serve a three-game ban.
Boss Hasenhuttl said: “The worst moment was the red card for Pierre Hojbjerg. It hurts us a lot. It’s a disaster for me.
“This was a silly tackle on 85 minutes when it’s 3-1 and the game is gone. This tackle really hurts us a lot because we miss him. He is one of the best players we have.”
Southampton also face an anxious wait to see if striker Charlie Austin is punished for an offensive gesture at City fans. Austin appeared to wave two fingers towards the travelling suport when he was taken off in the second half, an incident that could land him in hot water with the FA.
Midfielder Hojbjerg had raised hopes of pulling off an upset when he cancelled out David Silva’s opener in the 37th minute, only for City to respond through a James Wardprowse own goal and a Sergio Aguero header right on half-time.
Hasenhuttl (below) said: “They take a lot of risk to build up their moves and, if we had been sharper and found the right moment to attack, we could have won the ball earlier. We did exactly that with a fantastic goal from Pierre. That gave us a little bit of hope of pulling off a sensation.
“But as soon as this smell comes, it was going away after two horrible mistakes shortly before the break.
“It was too easy how we gave it away in this moment.
“We have to talk about these situations because it is the second time, after the West Ham match, that we have given away possession too easily.”
And Hasenhuttl revealed that his team basically gave up after City’s third goal.
“At 3-1 we decided to look forward because we have the next game against Chelsea and to give more energy away in this game did not make sense.”