Manchester City laboured to a 1-0 win over Southampton, after going a goal up after only four minutes when Matheus Nunes crossed for Erling Haaland, who out-muscled Jan Bednarek to thump in his eleventh Premier League goal of the season from six yards out. However, this was not the signal for an avalanche of goals, with the Saints having plenty of the ball – at the 30-minute mark they had enjoyed 53% of possession, albeit very little action near the Citizens’ goal.
As the first-half drew to a close there was always a sense City could step up the gears at any given time. This was demonstrated when Ramsdale had to push away a stinging Kovacic strike. Yet it was Southampton who came closer to scoring, when Cameron Archer struck the crossbar.
Haaland missed what seemed a certain goal from only two yards out early in the second-half. As the game reached the last half an hour, it was still finely poised with City still only one goal up, with Southampton with the better of the chances with Adam Armstrong blazing over. When the final whistle sounded, City were relieved to get the three points.
Man City 1-0 Southampton – Statistics | ||
|---|---|---|
Man City | Statistic | Southampton |
59% | Possession | 41% |
21 | Shots | 4 |
7 | Shots on target | 2 |
12 | Corners | 0 |
2 | Saves | 5 |
1 | Yellow cards | 2 |
Match Highlights
Coming shortly.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Ederson – 6/10
Despite the away team’s possession in the first-half, Ederson was largely untested.
Rico Lewis – 6/10
Was on hand to support Savinho ahead of him as City attempted to secure the win.
Manuel Akanji – 6/10
Like in so many of Manchester City’s home games in the Premier League, Akanji was largely untested.
Ruben Dias – 7/10
Not given a huge amount to do, but still showed his class at times.
Josko Gvardiol – 6/10
Looked comfortable for the most part, even though City had to remain patient.
Mateo Kovacic – 8/10
Showed his ability and experience as he looked to dictate the play, as well as having some attacking intent with a few strikes at goal, as the Croatian is called upon to play more minutes in the absence of the injured Rodri.
Savinho – 6/10
Got wide on plenty of occasions as he looked to get down the line, but was well marshalled by Manning.
Matheus Nunes – 6/10
Didn’t do anything particularly wrong, but wasn’t able to push on after providing the early assist for Haaland.
Bernardo Silva – 6/10
Always looking for the ball, even if this wasn’t his most influential game for the home side.
Phil Foden – 6/10
Fairly quiet first-half from the England international, but came out of the traps quicker in the second half.
Erling Haaland – 6/10
Showed his strength and power by shrugging Jan Bedarek aside and whacking City into the lead, but missed two guilt-edged chances from close range, albeit under pressure from Southampton defenders early in the second-half.
SUB – Ilkay Gundogan – 5/10
Brought on for Nunes for the last five minutes.
Southampton Player Ratings
Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10
Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10Had to stay sharp with City always capable of starting a quick attack, saved well from Kovacic.
Jack Stephens – 6/10
He kept his shape relatively well in the back five alongside Bednarek and Harwood-Bellis down the centre of the Southampton defence.
Jan Bednarek – 6/10
Was shrugged aside by Haaland on the edge of the six-yard box, as the City striker gave the home side the lead, but his experience was needed for the Saints to stay in the game going into the second-half.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis – 7/10
Had to be fully focused on a good display and made a series of blocks and tackles to keep Southampton in the game.
Ryan Manning – 6/10
Needed to be alert to the threat of Savinho and indeed Lewis and stuck to this task well.
Kyle Walker-Peters – 6/10
Probably more support from Tyler Dibling when it came to tracking back.
Adam Lallana – 6/10
At times he was almost an on-field coach for the visitors, as he demanded more from his teammates.
Mateus Fernandes – 6/10
He held his own and looked to help his team in both attacking and defensive areas.
Flynn Downes – 5/10
Was guilty of giving the ball away once too often.
Tyler Dibling – 5/10
Arguably Southampton’s brightest light this season, but largely ineffective today and was brought off at half-time.
Cameron Archer – 6/10
Pretty much starved of service until he was put through to strike the crossbar shortly before the half-time whistle.
SUB – Adam Armstrong – 5/10
Brought on for Dibling at half-time and promptly put himself into the referee’s books after only three minutes.
SUB – Joe Aribo – 6/10
Brought on for the last 30 minutes for Adam Lallana.
SUB – James Bree – 6/10
Brought on with 13 minutes remaining, replacing Manning.
SUB – Paul Onuachu – 6/10
Brought in for the last three minutes, as Russell Martin made a last throw of the dice.
SUB – Kamaldeen Sulemana – 6/10
Brought in for the last three minutes.
Man of the Match
Mateo Kovacic
In a game absent in real stand-out performances, despite all the talent on show at the Etihad, Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic was man of the match. With Rodri out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury, it leaves a huge hole in the middle of City’s midfield, but Kovacic has a wealth of experience in his time with the Croatian national team, as well as with Chelsea and Real Madrid, and this was on show today, as did what he could to dictate the play, as well as doing his bit to retrieve the ball when Southampton had possession.