RALPH Hasenhuttl pointed to Moi Elyounoussi’s goal-saving tackle on Gabriel Jesus as the “decisive scene” during the 1-1 draw with Arsenal. The Brazilian forward raced through on goal with almost 60 minutes on the clock after Ibrahima Diallo had conceded possession in the middle and Lyanco overstepped. However, Norwegian international Elyounoussi tracked the best part of 30 yards to slide in on Jesus just as he was pulling the trigger in the area and put Arsenal two ahead. The 28-year-old went up the other end minutes later to assist for Stuart Armstrong’s equaliser, which subsequently earned Saints a fifth point from three matches.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “We have the situation with Moi where we are one time open and concede a counter-attack, he makes a brilliant save because if we concede a second goal the game is gone. Very often you get the reward when you are brave. For me, the decisive scene was when Moi made the big save against Gabriel Jesus. For me, he was our player of the match. We put him in the wing-back position suddenly and I don’t know how many positions he has so far played in this team since I’m here but you can trust him everywhere. When he does what he does with his discipline, with his effort, it’s amazing to watch. Both wings were responsible for the goal as Romain (Perraud) and Moi were involved, fantastic pass and a fantastic finish from Stuart. At the end we got the feeling that we had them a little bit on the ropes and they were having 24 hours less to recover than we did which I think maybe is the reason that we had more in the tank and could push a little bit harder.”
