RALPH Hasenhuttl was thrilled to see Che Adams get off the mark after the striker broke his goalscoring duck against Man City.

The Saints forward hadn’t scored for the club this season but banished that statistic to one side with a beautiful finish from 35 yards out, chipping City goalkeeper Ederson, and winning the game for the St Mary’s side.

“I think it means a lot to him and also to us,” Hasenhuttl said.

“If you could have heard how the players were celebrating with him after the game then you would know how much they thought he deserved to score and they were really happy about that.

“He was really hard working against Watford, but he didn’t score.

“Everything was prepared for the right moment today and, to be honest, I am very happy for him.

“He had the right decision in this moment to score. We wanted to press high and win balls there.

“I don’t want to speak about one player because we had a lot of players that performed today.”

Saints had to ride their luck at times and relied on a brilliant defensive performance which involved Alex McCarthy.

McCarthy pulled off a string of saves throughout the tie to ensure Saints left St Mary’s with just a fifth home win of the season.

As much as City tried, they failed to find a way through, even though a handful of their chances were from close range.

And Hasenhuttl believes you need luck on your side if you are going to beat one of Europe’s best teams.

He added: “I think we knew that if we had to take something against such an opponent we would have to run more, fight more and give more.

“We had to also be brave and, in the end, you have to have a bit of luck otherwise it’s normally not possible.

“You have to fight with everything you have and then you can get something. I’m very proud.”