Chelsea were unable to kick on after that and instead it was Southampton who went closest to grabbing a winner as Jannik Vestergaard hit the crossbar with a header before Ings put the loose ball into the side-netting.
However, Saints manager Hasenhuttl was satisfied with a positive result in light of their recent torrid run.A draw feels like a win,” he said. “It’s a step towards us returning to our normal form.””We are believing in what we are doing. The Premier League is tough. For us, it is good that we take a point from such a strong side. end losing run Southampton were third on 16 December but a terrible run of losses going into this game had seen then slide down into the bottom half of the table. While they may not have been looking nervously over their shoulder, arresting their alarming slide down the table had become a priority.
For large periods against Chelsea they were like a plucky lower league side aiming to shock a Premier League opponent. They barely saw the ball for the majority of the first half and it was from their first touch inside the Blues’ area that they got the goal with a brilliantly composed finish by Minamino.
However, no side has dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League than Southampton and once again they were their own worst enemy as Ings gave away a penalty with Chelsea having rarely looked like creating anything from open play.
While it could have been an even better result, particularly with Vestergaard hitting the woodwork, the point is a positive against an in-form Chelsea. They will hope it provides a good base to try and build from before a tricky-looking run of four successive away games in the Premier League.
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