Hasenhuttl hails Bella-Kotchap effort in win over Chelsea

Ralph Hasenhuttl has hailed the performance of Armel Bella-Kotchap in Southampton’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.

The Saints manager singled out the 20-year-old summer signing for an impressive defensive display where he used his dominance to keep Chelsea at bay and secure all three points for Hasenhuttl’s side.

His performance summed up Southampton’s youthful exuberance, which saw them come back from 1-0 down to win the game thanks to goals from Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong.

However, it Bella-Kotchap who Hasenhuttl was singing the praises off after the game and championed his defender’s physical capabilities.

‘When you see the physical quality he has it is perfect for the Premier League,’ said Hasenhuttl. ‘And this is what we hoped for in the summer.

‘I was more questioning if he had the right mindset but it seems the Premier League is so interesting for him and he is fully focused.’

It’s an opinion shared by BT Sport pundits Jermaine Jenas and Saints legend Francis Benail, who both spoke on the German’s performance after the impressive win.

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‘He is one of five or six players that have had an instant impact.’ Benail said.

‘What we’ve been seeing is maturity beyond their years. He takes up great positions and recognises danger.’

While Jenas was pleased with Bella-Kotchap’s maturity and how he took charge of the game.

‘He has authority in the way he plays, how aggressive he is in the tackle and his positional sense, you always want one leading the way and he seems to want to take that mantle at 20 years of age.

‘He played well against united too and their scouting keeps producing.’

The was only one small negative to the victory, with fellow new recruit Romeo Lavia suffering an hamstring injury that Hasenhuttl is waiting to hear news of.

‘Everything is very positive except a worrying hamstring injury for Romeo (Lavia), who hopefully will not be out for too long.’

The 55-year-old did though credit the Southampton fans at St Mary’s and described how they got Saints over the line in the closing stages of the match.

“The atmosphere tonight was sensational. That carried us over the last 15 minutes when we were sometimes under pressure.’