Southampton 1-4 Man City: Player ratings as Citizens keep title charge alive
By Tom Gott
Manchester City maintained their quest to catch Arsenal at the top of the table with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday evening.
Erling Haaland's header late in the first half was much-needed to break an enthusiastic Southampton's spirits, and the Norwegian added a second after the interval either side of goals from Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez.
A fast start from Southampton included an excellent cross from Carlos Alcaraz after just a few minutes which somehow evaded everyone in the penalty area.
Down the other end, City's first glimpse of goal came on the counter through Grealish, whose effort was smartly pushed aside by Gavin Bazunu after some sensational build-up.
Southampton conceded over 80% possession inside the first 15 minutes but could have easily taken the lead when Kamaldeen Sulemana found himself one-on-one after running nearly two thirds of the pitch, but a heavy touch gave Ederson the chance he needed to claim possession.
Sulemana also struck wide late in the first half, and almost immediately after, they were punished for their profligacy as Haaland rose highest to head home a cross from Kevin De Bruyne with the final action of the first 45.
Five minutes after the break, Ilkay Gundogan thought he had added a second as he attempted to bend his effort into the top corner, but the German could only watch on as the ball fizzed agonisingly wide of goal.
The second goal did come soon after, however, as the impressive Grealish drew a save from Bazunu and thundered home the rebound to give City a little breathing room.
Bazunu had to be quick off his line to prevent a third from Bernardo Silva, who ran onto another pass from the sensational Kevin De Bruyne but couldn't apply the finishing touch, but Haaland gave a clinic in finishing straight after.
De Bruyne picked out Grealish, whose cross set up perfectly for a scissor kick from the Norwegian to bag his 30th goal of the campaign.
Southampton bagged an instant response as substitute Moussa Djenepo's excellent solo run was thundered home by Sekou Mara with 20 minutes to go.
Unfortunately, City went straight down the other end and won a penalty, from which Alvarez restored the three-goal cushion. to kill any hopes of a possible comeback.
Southampton player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Gavin Bazunu - 5/10 - Could do nothing about Haaland's goals but needed to do a little better with the second strike.
RB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 5/10 - Kept very busy by Grealish. Did his best but ultimately lost the battle.
CB: Jan Bednarek - 5/10 - A bit shaky whenever the ball came towards him.
CB: Armel Bella-Kotchap - 5/10 - Largely solid but switched off just once in the first half and was punished by Haaland.
LB: Kyle Walker-Peters - 5/10 - Enjoyed his battle with Mahrez but soured his performance by conceding the penalty.
CM: James Ward-Prowse - 6/10 - Had to do a lot of dirty work but can be satisfied with his individual performance.
CM: Romeo Lavia - 7/10 - A standout in Southampton's midfield. City's buy-back clause is looking sweeter and sweeter.
CM: Mohamed Elyounoussi - 6/10 - Tasked with keeping watch of De Bruyne, Elyounoussi ultimately came up short but put in a real shift.
RW: Theo Walcott - 5/10 - Had a bit of a tough time getting involved. Southampton had very little possession and that didn't suit Walcott.
ST: Carlos Alcaraz - 6/10 - Pressed from the front with the odd moment of real quality. Had to work hard with so little possession.
LW: Kamaldeen Sulemana - 5/10 - No idea how Sulemana didn't score.
Substitutes
Stuart Armstrong (60' for Elyounoussi) - 5/10
Moussa Djenepo (69' for Alcaraz) - 7/10
Sekou Mara (69' for Sulemana) - 7/10
Ibrahima Diallo (80' for Lavia) - N/A
Romain Perraud (80' for Walcott) - N/A
Manager
Ruben Selles - 6/10 - There's no shame to losing against City. Southampton were really impressive in the first half and caused problems on the counter. There could have been a different story here but the gulf in quality between the two teams ultimately took its toll.
Man City player ratings (3-2-4-1)
GK: Ederson - 6/10 - Rarely involved thanks to some wasteful finishing from Southampton.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 5/10 - Not his best performance as Sulemana's speed caused him countless problems.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Busier than he'd have expected to be, but dealt with the uncomfortable moments well.
CB: Nathan Ake - 7/10 - Yet another top performance from the Dutchman, whose stellar season is starting to attract the praise it deserves.
DM: John Stones - 6/10 - Played the pivot role well and had to do a lot of defending to keep an eye on Southampton's tricky forwards.
DM: Rodri - 6/10 - Given more freedom to get forwards, Rodri didn't really offer much but he didn't get much wrong either.
RM: Riyad Mahrez - 5/10 - A pretty anonymous performance from Mahrez.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne - 9/10 - A good battle with Elyounoussi. De Bruyne used his intelligence to get away and create the opener, securing his 100th Premier League assist at record pace, and played a huge role in the second and third strikes as well.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 7/10 - An intelligent performance from Gundogan as he linked all the pieces together and kept City pushing forward. Should have had a goal of his own.
LM: Jack Grealish - 8/10 - Another dangerous showing which yielded a scrappy, albeit deserved, goal and an impressive assist.
ST: Erling Haaland - 8/10 - Barely involved but once again popped up at the right moments to make the telling impact. A delightful second goal.
Substitutes
Bernardo Silva (56' for Mahrez) - 7/10
Kyle Walker (56' for Stones) - 6/10
Julian Alvarez (69' for Haaland) - 7/10
Sergio Gomez (80' for Ake) - N/A
Kalvin Phillips (80' for Rodri) - N/A
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 6/10 - Another classy performance from Guardiola. Struggled to get the right tune out of his team early on but eventually willed his way through.