RALPH Hasenhuttl called on his Saints team to be “nastier” after making victory for Manchester City too easy, but conceded the 4-0 result was something to be expected.

Pep Guardiola’s side are averaging four goals a game at home and have won six in a row in all competitions with a goal difference of 20.

Saints, meanwhile, have now lost four on the spin and are yet to keep a clean sheet all season. City are romping towards the title and to say this result was highly anticipated is not unfair.

It is also the view of the Austrian, who watched on as Joao Cancelo, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Erling Haaland all netted to make it a tough trip to Manchester – and it could have been more.

“We have seen a tough game for us against a complete team that showed all their qualities in every minute,” he said, speaking after the match.

“Sometimes we defended better and took the ball-wins but not enough to make them struggle like last season, where we had more moments where we could hurt them, a clean sheet and in the end took a point here.

“The question is are they so much better now or are we not on the level? I think on the ball, we are definitely not on the level we have been. Off the ball, we tried it but they found a way to play through our lines better than in the past.

“This is nothing that is super surprising because they have simple the quality to do this. In the end, to lose a game here I think it is better to try something and be brave than sit deep and still lose to a strong side.”

Hasenhuttl called for bravery in the build-up to the match. That is what got Saints results versus City last season and it was a sticking point for the much of the first-half as players were nervous to play out.

“Against the ball, I thought we were brave, not always, but very often,” Hasenhuttl added. "But with the ball? Not really.

“There were some moments where we did it okay but not enough to make them struggle more. It is tough here and we know this, a lot of teams come here and get shown their limits and we were one of them.”

Hasenhuttl clapped the Saints supporters at full-time, whereas he normally heads straight down the tunnel to prepare his messages for his players – as he told the Daily Echo after the humiliation at Brentford in April.

“The message was clear. That we want to be brave and be a nastier opponent,” he explained. “Not nasty enough in some moments, to be honest.

“To defend them, you have to work super hard. But in the end, you cannot defend every action. They are too quick on the ball, too good, but we tried it.

“To win something here is not easy but I must say we expected this game today. I was hoping that we were a little bit more able to hurt them but we haven’t been, we didn’t have the tools to hurt them more and this is what we have to expect.”

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