Frustrated Southampton manager Claude Puel said Manolo Gabbiadini had scored three times after his side’s heart-breaking defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup final.
The Saints suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss when Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed his second goal of the game with an 87th-minute header at Wembley on Sunday.
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United’s victory came despite Gabbiadini striking twice either side of half-time to level the match after Ibrahimovic’s first goal and an effort from Jesse Lingard had put Jose Mourinho’s men two in front.
Before all that, though, Gabbiadini – who now has five goals in three Saints games – had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside, with the flag raised against team-mate Ryan Bertrand despite him not making a move towards goal as the Italy striker tapped in Cedric Soares’ cross.
“Manolo Gabbiadini scored three good goals this afternoon,” Puel said at his post-match media conference. “There is a lot of disappointment of course.
“We were unlucky throughout the game. For example, Gabbiadini’s first goal was a good goal. We scored first, but the decision was not for us. Perhaps [the disallowed goal was a turning point] – it is always better to go 1-0 up.
“I’m proud of my players for a fantastic game. There is a lot of disappointment but hopefully we can continue at this level after showing so many good things.”