Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuettl shed tears of joy and collapsed to his knees at the final whistle after an early Danny Ings strike secured the Saints a shock 1-0 Premier League win over champions Liverpool on Monday.

The Austrian’s emotional celebrations might have led some fans to think that Southampton had just secured the Premier League title.

But as wins over Liverpool are a rare occurrence for the Saints, with the last one coming in the league almost five years ago, it was an occasion to savour for Hasenhuettl who took charge of the south-coast club in 2018.

“There were tears in my eyes — because of the wind!,” Hasenhuettl jokingly told BBC Sport.

“When you see our guys fighting with everything they have, it makes me really proud. You need to have the perfect game against Liverpool and I think we did have that.”

Hasenhuettl’s team were forced to defend for long periods in the second half, and he admitted that it was deep into stoppage time before he felt that his side could get a result.

“It felt like we were under massive pressure and the defending around the box was the key today. We did it in a good way,” he said.

“I’d never taken a point against Juergen so far. The way we defended was amazing, it was absolutely the perfect evening for us,” Hasenhuettl said.

Ings believes Hasenhuettl’s passion for the game has rubbed off on the players and said the Austrian’s emotional reaction was great to see.

“Yeah, he’s very passionate. I think it’s great for all of us lads to see because he brings that passion into our game,” Ings said.