Midtjylland's captain Erik Sviatchenko claimed Southampton only plays "long balls" after his side stunned the Premier League club 1-0 to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Morten Rasmussen's first-half strike was enough to see Midtjylland triumph 2-1 on aggregate in Denmark on Friday (AEST), with Southampton manager Ronald Koeman blaming the referees in both matches for his side's defeat.

Koeman was also quoted in the Danish media calling his host 'Midgetland' - the club's name is pronounced 'Mit-yoo-land' - but Sviatchenko was similarly up front with his take on Southampton's performance in the Europa League play-off.

"The only thing they can is long balls, but we are warriors,"

"This is crazy. Yes, it is on the same level as when we won [the Danish Superliga last season]," Sviatchenko said: