Saints boss full of praise for Potter’s work with Brghton

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl heaped praise on Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter and his side after Sunday’s thrilling 2-2 draw at the Amex.

The Seagulls went ahead inside two minutes when Danny Welbeck poked home into an empty net.

The hosts doubled their advantage on 44 minutes thanks to Mohammed Salisu’s own goal.

The Saints reduced the arrears deep in first half stoppage time thanks to a trademark free kick from captain James WardProwse.

And the Saints skipper completed the turnaround on 54 minutes when he rifled home from outside the penalty area.

The draw saw Brighton drop out of the Premier League’s top half, but the Seagulls equalled their record top-flight points tally and ended their run of five home games without a goal.

Albion sit 11th in the league with 41 points from 34 games, a point and two place above Southampton.

Speaking after the game, Saints boss Hasenhüttl said: “I have a big respect for Graham Potter, he is tactically one of the best managers in the league,

“I like to watch them [Brighton] play, very often with a new idea.

“We both have clear identities I think, with what we want to do, and it is always a big challenge to play against them, the games are always super tight and tactically very demanding.

“We both lined up differently. They went with two strikers, we have had problems against two strikers, like against Aston Villa, and this is what he did.

“We had in the first game [the 1-1 draw at St Mary’s in December] the lead until the 98th minute, and then we conceded the goal. Today [Sunday], we have come back and we have had two draws.

“We are both in the middle of the table, with just one point between us and four games to go, so let’s see who does it better.”