This was a performance to make Saints fans proud, despite the result. Southampton showed real fight to push City to their limit.
Maya Yoshida and Wesley Hoedt both had chances to put Saints on top in the first 45. The latter missing a close range header.
For some time it looked like these chances were going to come back and haunt Saints following Kevin De Bruyne’s strike. But a goal from a unlikely source in Oriol Romeu helped tie things up.
Following Sterling’s late winner, one can only think what if, if those first half chances had gone in. It would be harsh on the team to solely focus on that. The team deserve real credit for their performance, and should fill fans with more confidence going into the rest of this season.
Pellegrino’s braveness to go for the win after Romeu’s equaliser is also admiral. In hindsight it might’ve been smarter to settle for the point, but substitutions of Charlie Austin and Sofiane Boufal showed that the Argentine wanted to try and snatch all three points.