Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl concedes James Ward-Prowse deserved his red card in defeat at Chelsea.
The Saints captain was shown a straight red in the 77th minute by referee Martin Atkinson, after he reviewed his initial decision of a yellow, following a foul on Jorginho.
"We really tried everything what we can do to make it as tough as possible for them, and I think we did that for a long time," said Hasenhüttl, who is now faced with the prospect of losing Ward-Prowse for the next three matches.
"It was just at the moment where you could feel that, ok, now we have more to give, we can maybe hurt them really and take three points, then the red card came and at that moment you know it is getting tougher, because with 11 it's difficult to defend and with ten even more.
"He knows that he has made a mistake there I think, but this is our way of playing sometimes, is we are trying to win balls high up the pitch, but this is a pity because he is out now for us and he is an important player for us."
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