Southampton’s lacklustre performance in the 3-0 defeat at West Ham on Saturday came as no shock to manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Marko Arnautovic grabbed the first for the Hammers in the 16th minute after Mark Noble capitalised on a mistake by Yan Valery to put him through one-on-one with Fraser Forster.
The second arrived midway through the second half after Forster’s block ricocheted off Arnautovic and looped into the air for a free header.
Related: Arnautovic Pledges Hammers Future
Moments later Ryan Fredericks lashed in number three. Southampton had secured their Premier League survival last weekend and Hasenhuttl admits with the pressure off, his players did not play with their usual intensity. “It’s not a coincidence that after some intense weeks and months, using that energy to stay in the league, and then you have a game today where you make a big mistake and go 1-0 down, that the physical energy is not so high,” said Hasenhuttl.
“That’s not a surprise to me. The power and conviction was not there. We have invested a lot. You could feel we were not that compact and a few steps too late. “After the second goal the game was gone.
That was the knockout. I know if you give Arnautovic space he is very clinical. The first goal is perfect for him, we made it too easy for him.”
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