Southampton 0-1 Manchester City: Raheem Sterling winner for Pep Guardiola’s team

Manchester City got back on the winning track in the Premier League and closed the gap to the top four with a hard-fought win over Southampton in form at St Mary’s.

Southampton, who started the day third in the table, responded well but their equalizing efforts were hampered by the loss of forward Danny Ings to injury before the break.

In a close second-half, Bernardo Silva missed his shot after being played by De Bruyne, while the hosts had hand penalty appeals against Sterling dismissed by VAR.

Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy kept his team’s hopes of salvaging a result alive with a good save from Ilkay Gundogan’s curly shot, but Sterling’s shot was decisive for a City team that had tied their last two games. .

City are one point behind fourth-placed Southampton and eight behind leaders Liverpool, having played one game less than both.

Same old problems, but the city finds a way

Following Liverpool’s emphatic 7-0 victory at Crystal Palace, a result that temporarily left City 11 points behind their recent title adversary, Guardiola’s failed team could not afford a repeat of their recent shortcomings.

Logging 25 shots in a frustrating 1-1 draw with West Brom on Tuesday, it seems unlikely that the scoring problems that have contributed to his Spanish coach’s worst start to a top flight campaign will disappear anytime soon.

Faced with a confident Saints team that withstood 26 shots beating City 1-0 in July, Sterling’s controlled right starter forced the hosts to ask the questions, and a defense led by Ruben Dias, who signed for $ 65 million. pounds, effectively withstood the relentless pressure from the Saints.

But in the absence of forward Gabriel Jesús, and with injury-plagued Sergio Agüero back on the bench, summer signing Ferran Torres managed just one shot as City struggled to create starts.

Silva, making his fifth league start to the season, produced several confusing runs but was unable to finish with another quality pass from De Bruyne and the problem for City remains clear, with his 19 goals this season paling compared to 37. they achieved after 13. games last quarter.

However, the win was arguably the biggest thing for City after their midweek setback, and this was important after Liverpool’s earlier declaration of intent.

Ings blows when the saints come up short

This was an opportunity for Southampton to genuinely establish themselves as a top four contender this season after an impressive start. Though expired on Saturday, Hasenhuttl’s team will feel it may threaten the established order.

The Austrian’s right-handed side played with the energy and confidence expected of one that had lost just once in 11 Premier League games, the Saints once again unrecognizable from the team that had a torrid start to the previous campaign.

City’s first goal only served to increase Southampton’s initial intensity in front of a limited number of home fans, but Ederson was equal to both Theo Walcott’s shot and Jannik Vestergaard’s header.

The loss of Ings, whose wait for the 50th goal in the Premier League continues, before the break was a severe blow, after the 28-year-old led his team’s admirable high pressure from the lead.

The forward was convinced he should have received a penalty after a high challenge from Ruben Dias, while the VAR decided not to award a penalty when the ball hit Sterling in the arm in the second half, but Southampton was ultimately unable to bring down the City. .

Ings’ injury and a 10th booking for the now-sanctioned Oriol Romeu were two notable disappointments in the defeat of Hasenhuttl, who should otherwise be proud of another promising performance.

The city’s impressive defensive record – the statistics

• No team has conceded fewer goals (12) or kept more clean sheets (6) in the Premier League this season than Manchester City.
• City manager Guardiola has won six of his seven meetings with Hasenhuttl in all competitions.
• Southampton failed to score in a Premier League match for the first time since their first game of the season in September.
• The Saints have only kept a clean sheet in their last 18 matches against Manchester City in the Premier League, conceding 40 goals in those matches.
• Sterling has been directly involved in 11 goals in 16 Premier League games against Southampton, only against West Ham (14) has he had anything to do with it.
• Kevin de Bruyne has registered 15 assists in the Premier League in 2020. They are three more than anyone else and in 2017 alone he has assisted more (18).
• Since the start of last season, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (45) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than De Bruyne (42).

Whats Next?

Manchester City will face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), before hosting Newcastle on Saturday night in the Premier League (20:00).

Travel from Southampton to Fulham on Saturday (3pm).

Man of the match

VestergaardJannik Vestergaard