Southampton fans praise Bednarek’s performance in battling draw with Chelsea

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Southampton produced a spirited and resolute performance to shut out Chelsea and secure a 0-0 draw in their first match of 2019 last night.

A much-changed Saints side secured a point after frustrating Maurizio Sarri’s side to collect a first clean sheet since October.

That underlines their new-found resilience under Ralph Hasenhuttl and one man who has been brought in from the cold under the Austrian is young central defender Jan Bednarek.

He did not make a single Premier League start this season under Mark Hughes, but from Hasenhuttl’s first match against Cardiff, he has played every minute.

Last night, he repayed his manager’s faith with an excellent central defensive display to frustrate the likes of Eden Hazard and although results elsewhere saw Southampton slip back into the bottom three, there is an optimism around the club that was not there under Hughes.

More performances with this spirit will ensure Southampton’s survival and if Bednarek and his central defensive colleagues carry on playing like this, opponents will find it extremely difficult to break them down.

Saints supporters on Twitter were keen to pay tribute to the Polish international and we’ve put together some of the best reaction…

https://twitter.com/ScottishSaint/status/1080585652108955648

https://twitter.com/andrew_sfc18/status/1080579627490381827

https://twitter.com/ScottHammy87/status/1080605052153356288

https://twitter.com/JW_SFC/status/1080581235641077760