Agitated Guardiola slams Southampton tactics after City drop crucial points | OneFootball

Manchester City’s momentum hit a wall on Saturday as they were held to a goalless draw by bottom-placed Southampton at St Mary’s, leaving Pep Guardiola visibly agitated after a result that could have major implications for their Champions League qualification hopes.

City arrived on the south coast chasing a fifth consecutive Premier League win and with the opportunity to move level on points with second-placed Arsenal. Instead, they were met with deep defending, wasted chances and rising frustration.

“It was difficult,” Guardiola admitted post-match. “Eleven players on the penalty spot. First half we didn’t have creativity from the sides. We didn’t play with wingers. We had chances but unfortunately, we could not score.”

The defending champions, flat in the opening 45 minutes, improved after the break with Jeremy Doku’s introduction. The Belgian winger injected urgency and width, but City’s dominance in possession was met with resistance from a Saints side desperate to avoid finishing the season with a historically low points tally.

“I didn’t expect they would defend so, so deep,” Guardiola added. “Defensively we were brilliant. But we missed the last actions that break the result.”

City had 79 percent of the ball and 19 attempts on goal but failed to breach Aaron Ramsdale’s goal. Substitute Omar Marmoush struck the crossbar late on in what proved to be their clearest opening.

Erling Haaland played the full 90 minutes in his first start after injury, something Guardiola admitted was not part of the plan.

“We didn’t expect him to play 90,” he said. “But the way the game was going, we needed people in the box. We brought on Nico O’Reilly and Omar to give us that extra quality.”

For Guardiola, the dropped points could prove costly in a congested top-five race.

“Today we missed an important opportunity,” he said. “We have two games left, and it’s still in our hands. But this was a massive game for us.”

Ruben Dias echoed his manager’s frustration.

“It’s frustrating to play a team like that,” said the defender. “They didn’t want to play. Just wasting time the whole game.”

City now turn their attention to the FA Cup final next weekend, but with the Champions League race heating up, every remaining point in the league has taken on extra weight.