A solitary strike from Raheem Sterling was sufficient to seal a hard fought victory for Manchester City against an impressive Southampton side.
It is a mark of the significant progress made under Ralph Hasenhuttl that there was a sense of genuine disappointment that Saints were unable to obtain any points against Pep Guardiola’s City team. In fairness, this was an even contest, in which Southampton went toe to toe against their illustrious opponents and were found wanting in just one department – goal scoring.
With Danny Ings limping off just before half time, Hasenhuttl surprisingly turned to youngster Nathan Tella to lead the line alongside the ever improving Che Adams. There was no lack of effort from the Saints attack, who worked tirelessly to press the City defence and midfield, but they never looked likely seriously troubling Ederson in the City goal.
It was an unlikely long ball that brought about the goal, the complete antithesis of what Guardiola’s side normally stand for but there was no denying its effectiveness in unlocking the Saints defence. Ederson’s well aimed ball eventually found itself at the feet of Kevin De Bruyne on the edge of the Southampton box and the Belgian calmly slid the ball into the path of the waiting Sterling. The England winger made no mistake, leaving Alex McCarthy no chance with a cool side footed finish.
The result was a valuable lesson for a Southampton team with lofty ambitions and there will be players ruing the missed opportunity to inflict defeat on City in consecutive seasons. Whether Saints will feature in the business end of the table in May remains to be seen but if they can find ruthlessness in front of goal, there is no reason why they can’t mix with the very best.
Here are three of the key players from yesterday’s defeat: