Southampton boss Claude Puel has claimed that conceding early in Sunday's Premier League clash with Chelsea made it very difficult for the Saints to secure a positive result.

Eden Hazard sent Chelsea ahead in just the sixth minute at St Mary's, before Diego Costa added a second early in the second period as the visitors continued their strong run of form with a 2-0 success.

Puel has said that his team "played very well in the first half", but has conceded that Chelsea were difficult to break down once they had found the opening goal of the match.

"I think we played very well in the first half with so many possibilities and good play. But it's difficult to play against this team when you concede a goal after a few minutes," Puel told BBC Sport.

"They can play their game with a strong defence and counter-attack. We played very well in the first half. In the second we tried but after the second goal it was difficult – because my players were tired. It was difficult to find solutions, it's a disappointment because we tried to play good football. We can do better."

Next up for Southampton is a Europa League group match at home to Inter Milan on Thursday night.