RALPH’S A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS

RALPH HASENHUTTL gave the game away when he emerged at the start of the night wearing goalkeeper gloves.

Southampton came to defend and did a superb job of it in the first half, with Premier League debutant Angus Gunn only having one proper save to make.

You could hardly blame them.

Hasenhuttl (above with Danny Ings) brought Saints to

Stamford Bridge without a clean sheet in 10 league games.

But they were solid, hard to break down and stubbornly refused to give Chelsea a sniff as they repelled everything Maurizio Sarri’s men could hurl at them.

It didn’t make for much of a spectacle, with the sideshow of Hasenhuttl’s constant chatter, pacing and handclapping in the dugout a more interesting watch than the game itself. But it was effective – and with 20 minutes to go and Chelsea still dominating possession, Saints had arguably had the best chances to score.

Meanwhile Jan Bednarek (inset) put his body on the line, Maya Yoshida made crucial interventions and Jannik Vestergaard threw his weight around.

But with time ticking down and Chelsea pushing for a breakthrough, it was Gunn who stood tall, denying Alvaro Morata with another decent stop.

Hasenhuttl was shouting instructions by that point but he looked like a happy man while his opposite number Sarri grew increasingly frustrated.

The Austrian has clearly got something that his players are buying into, and if they carry on like this they should have enough to win their survival fight.