Manchester City let a golden opportunity slip against Southampton | OneFootball

Manchester City left the St. Mary’s Stadium with a point yesterday. Their nil-all draw with Southampton was a costly result for Pep Guardiola’s side. If they’d won yesterday, they’d have tightened their grip on a place in next season’s Champions League. They still hold their destiny in their own hands despite yesterday’s result. But coming out of the game, you can’t help but think that City let a golden opportunity slip.

Manchester City had to play better than they did yesterday to beat Southampton.

Entering yesterday’s match, it was on Pep Guardiola’s side to force the issue against Southampton. The home side was intent on not being easy to play against yesterday. They sat deep from the opening kickoff and barely offered a threat going forward. It was in Manchester City to force the issue yesterday. But while they dominated possession yesterday in the first half, there was no intent in their play. There was no urgency, and no width to their play. This rendered Erling Haaland ineffective, and City’s first-half performance was a poor one. It was on Pep Guardiola’s side to up the ante in the second half.

Southampton played similarly in the second half. Manchester City pushed for a winner in the second half. Aaron Ramsdale made several good saves late on, and Omar Marmoush hit the bar in the 90th minute. But come the final whistle, City had let a golden opportunity slip and the results that followed yesterday’s match highlight this fact. Aston Villa beat Bournemouth 1-nil to move up to sixth on the Premier League table. They sit two points behind Manchester City, who are now fourth on the table. Newcastle United have jumped City into third with their 2-nil win over Chelsea earlier today. Manchester City are now back in a tight race for Champions League qualification.

Pep Guardiola is aware that his team missed an opportunity yesterday.

Speaking after his team’s draw with Southampton, Pep Guardiola knows his team missed an opportunity at St. Mary’s. Speaking after the game he said: “The result, of course, it’s a missed opportunity today, we know that. They defend so deep – in the first half, after 15 or 20 minutes, I realised we need the strikers especially to break them because we didn’t expect them to be so defensive. We couldn’t get the rhythm. The second half was better, and in the last 30 minutes, we had a lot of chances, but it’s always difficult against a team that plays that way.”

Manchester City missed a golden opportunity yesterday. They couldn’t have maintained breathing space in the race for  Champions League qualification. But it wasn’t to be and now they must move on from yesterday’s disappointment. The hope is that yesterday’s result doesn’t prove to be too costly come the end of this season.