Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted Saints are a “different side” when Danny Ings plays, after the striker netted twice to sink Crystal Palace this evening. Asked how much of a difference having Ings fit all season could have made to his side’s chances, Hasenhuttl said: “Every season is a tough one and Ingsy again had a few problem this season.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said “Last season he was fit. He had the break when he had COVID and we could rest him a little bit more. I know with Danny we are a different side, because he makes the chances we need to score. It is not only the goals where we don’t think it’s a chance, because the first goal was fantastic from him. This is the reason why he is so important for us. I think with the ball it was really good. We had not very aggressive opponents, so we can play more football and move them around a little bit. The automatism we tried today we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare it for this game, but it was quite good. We had a very good meeting on Sunday after the Liverpool game and then on Monday also. We had a few good chances also in the first half after a very bad start, conceding a goal immediately is normally the worst you can get against Crystal Palace. This was the key for staying in the game for coming back and then you need a goalkeeper who makes a save from a penalty, which is also important moment in this game. Then with Danny Ings and Che Adams, who scores the difficult ones, not the easy ones!”
Ings, who had missed the past two matches with a hamstring injury, returned to start for Saints against the Eagles. And he struck a brilliant goal in each half to earn his side a 3-1 victory, with Che Adams also on target. Fraser Forster also played a key role, saving a Luka Milivojevic penalty at 1-1. The win lifted Saints up to 14th in the Premier League table, with three games to play.
