RALPH Hasenhuttl has credited the hard work of his analysts and coaches, who helped his players pull off performances versus Manchester City he has described as “remarkable”.

Saints became the first team this campaign that Pep Guardiola’s side have failed to beat in either fixture, and following the 12-match winning run that just ended there might not be too many teams that do it at all.

After the 0-0 draw at the Etihad in September, Saints’ 1-1 draw against the reigning champions left an excited Austrian boss searching for breath.

Going into the two-week break, his side can now look up the table with a ten-point buffer either side of them, between the European qualification spots and the relegation zone.

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Speaking after the match, Hasenhuttl exclaimed: “I was only tired from the unbelievable effort.

Daily Echo: Ralph Hasenhuttl called on defender Lyanco in the second-half (Pic: Stuart Martin)Ralph Hasenhuttl called on defender Lyanco in the second-half (Pic: Stuart Martin)

“Not only from my point outside but the players inside, how much they were sprinting today and showing at every shot it was unbelievable to watch.

“They had done it once away at the Etihad, and to do it again is even more remarkable for me.

“They (City) had also now a week to prepare, they came with their best team after having a week after this game to recover like we have.”

He continued: “It is amazing, to come here and not lose in this game, really fighting for the point and deserving to get it because of the effort we put in.

“I have the highest respect for this manager (Guardiola), he is the best in the world and to be twice unbeaten against him means a lot to my staff, we were so hard-working, my analysts, my coaches, everybody.

Daily Echo: Pep Guardiola was left frustrated by the draw (Pic: Stuart Martin)Pep Guardiola was left frustrated by the draw (Pic: Stuart Martin)

“When you see how unhappy they are, they don’t want to drop points. Even in the end they are 11 points ahead and they could take a point but now, they hate to drop points.”

Despite having several chances to again escape City’s clutches with a win of their own, Hasenhuttl admitted he thought the match at the Etihad was their better performance of the two.

“Our last game was very good, I think we did it better there than today to be honest,” he added.

Daily Echo: Kyle Walker-Peters opened with his first ever Premier League goal inside seven minutes (Pic: Stuart Martin)Kyle Walker-Peters opened with his first ever Premier League goal inside seven minutes (Pic: Stuart Martin)

“But I think we had today more energy, even more quality on the pitch – their best team, I think.

“It was clear they had some ideas of what they wanted to do and this makes it super tough, we changed the shape once in the first-half and it did not work.

“We stayed with the 4-2-2-2 in the second-half with a few adaptations of the positions and where we want to bring them. It was super tough and we were still not able to defend everything.”