RALPH Hasenhuttl described Saints' win at Chelsea as their ‘best performance of the season by far’.

After overseeing Saints’ second away win in six days, a result that puts his side 14th in the Premier League, Hasenhuttl said: “I was most proud with the moments we won the ball because that was so important.

“When you only defend against such an opponent the pressure can get too much.

“That has happened very often in the past and today it didn’t.

"We stayed brave, tried to keep them far away from our goal and in the end it was by far the best performance this season.

“We’ve had a few good away ones but this was the best.”

Today’s win was Saints’ fourth in six games and took them up to 14th, above the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth.

Only the top four have more away wins this season.

It was a vast improvement on their last meeting with Chelsea, a 4-1 home defeat at the beginning of October.

“You could see a massive change from the 1-4 in believing what we’re doing and the behaviour after losing the ball,” continued Hasenhuttl.

“We still make some mistakes but we are much better on the counter-press and closing from the front.”

After Chelsea’s third defeat in four home games, Hasenhuttl admitted to learning and taking confidence from the approach of West Ham and Bournemouth.

“When you see other teams can win here why shouldn’t you do it also?” he continued.

“This is about losing the fear, about being brave. The team had a lot of self confidence today.”

Chelsea began with three central defenders before switching to a back four following the introduction of Mason Mount at the start of the second half.

“Sure you have to have a tactical plan but without patience and passion it doesn’t work,” continued Hasenhuttl. 

“We were well prepared for both shapes, we knew they had success with a back five in the last game so for me that was not surprising.

“They became more offensive at 1-0 with the 4-3-3 and we prepared for that shape as well.”

Hasenhuttl celebrated Michael Obafemi’s brilliant opener by dancing out of his technical area.

“Sorry for leaving the zone but it was a fantastic goal from Michael!" he smiled.

“For us all it was a fantastic day because we have to play again in two days and this gives us a lift.

“I would like to give them two days off but this is not possible. I didn’t want to take too much risk today with Ingsy, but Michael and Che [Adams] did a fantastic job.”

Asked about the mesmerising second goal, scored by Nathan Redmond following a build-up of 20-plus passes and a delightful assist from the outstanding Stuart Armstrong, Hasenhuttl added: “We’re not always brave enough, especially in the lead because you feel you can lose something. 

“But the players did exactly what I demand them to do. This must be the next step in our development.”