Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report from the Etihad, where another compelling performance by City on both ends showed just how difficult they will be to dethrone.
Full time: Manchester City 6-1 Southampton
It was a thoroughly relentless performance from Pep Guardiola’s men and it propels them to the top of the table, two points clear of Liverpool (and Chelsea if current results hold). Southampton can claim a small bit of consolation with their first goal in six Premier League matches, but not much else.
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GOAL! Manchester City 6-1 Southampton (Sane, 90 min+1)
City’s attack just toying with their foils now. Sane’s third goal of the Premier League season, slotted calmly from inside the area into the bottom-left corner, comes way too easy.
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87 min: Foden wins a free kick for City but Sane’s attempt sails over the target. Both sides content to play out the string, it seems. Which is probably just as best for the visitors.
84 min: A pair of speculative shots from Shane Long over the last couple of minutes but nothing to put a scare in the mass of humanity in full throat at the Etihad.
79 min: City make their final sub as Fabian Delph replaces Fernandinho. Meanwhile, there’s a delay in play as the medical staff attend to Lemina, who’s down with an injury.
77 min: Aguero has a go on goal from just inside the area but it sails high and wide left. City almost immediately win back possession and it’s Aguero at the stick again. He tries to put Sane through but the winger is ruled offside.
72 min: The subs continue to roll in. Phil Foden replaces David Silva for City, while Southampton insert Michael Obafemi and Mohamed Elyounoussi in place of Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse.
68 min: City make the first substitution of the match as Vincent Kompany enters for John Stones.
GOAL! Manchester City 5-1 Southampton (Sterling, 67 min)
City’s formidable pace up front shows itself again as Aguero romps down the center of the pitch before slipping to Sterling, who slots it through the keeper’s legs. Lot of time left in this one and the Southampton back four look quite spent.
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63 min: A chance for City as Sane’s attempt from outside the box clangs off the left post. Moments later it’s Southampton’s Lemina whose speculative attempt is saved.
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60 min: A bit of a slow patch at the hour mark, but Southamption haven’t had anything resembling a chance aside from Ings’ tightly angled header off the corner a few minutes ago.
57 min: And just like that City are on the attack again, winning a corner and generating a quick chance off a header from Stones that sails over the crossbar for a goal kick.
55 min: Southampton win another corner but this one is sent to the near post, where Ings flicks a nifty header that takes a deflection and almost beats Ederson, but the keeper makes the save. Nearly a big moment for the visitors!
53 min: The Southampton corner sails harmlessly into the waiting arms of Ederson and City will build up from the back again.
52 min: Southampton win a corner, their first of the afternoon. Roars of support from the traveling supporters. Can they make anything of it?
48 min: No changes for either side at the break. David Silva wins a free kick on a Mario Lemina foul, but Sterling’s right-footed attempt off the restart is blocked.
46 min: And we’re under way in the second half.
Half-time: Manchester City 4-1 Southampton
Too much pace. Too much power. And Man City are 45 minutes from their familiar perch atop the Premier League table.
GOAL! Manchester City 4-1 Southampton (Sterling, 45 min+2)
Aguero muscles Stephens for the ball off the goal line and centers to Sterling, whose first attempt is blocked but whose second restores City’s three-goal lead right before the half.
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43 min: City continuing to turn the screw over the last five minutes. No firm chances to show for it but they’re in total control despite conceding for the first time in 10 hours.
38 min: Aguero showed yellow for a hand ball. Or was it the way he booted the ball away in disgust after he was whistled for it? No matter.
37 min: A completely absurd spell of attack for City, who had the ball in the area poised for a fourth goal for what seemed like a dozen touches in a half-minute.
— dami🦈 (@damictid) November 4, 2018
They can’t manage to get a shot off in the moment, but seconds later Walker does and it’s blocked.
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34 min: Now City are on the prowl again from the back with numbers in attack on a great ball by Mendy but Sterling’s backheel to David Silva has a bit too much on it and it’s out for a goal kick.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-1 Southampton (Ings, 29 min)
A beautiful ball through by Bertrand up the left side to Danny Ings in the penalty area and the City keeper Ederson hurls himself into the chance, committing a foul. There was an attempt to play the ball, so there won’t be a booking. Ings walks to the spot, waits for Ederson to commit, rolls it easily into the bottom-right corner and Southampton are on the board for the first time in five matches!
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24 min: First hint of a chance for the Saints after Hojbjerg wins a free kick. Lemina has a good look on goal but his right-footed attempt off the restart is wide left of the target.
21 min: Shane Long wins a free kick in the attacking half from David Silva but nothing comes of it. City have scored 20 goals since they last conceded.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-0 Southampton (David Silva, 18 min)
Moments later Sterling centers a ball from the touchline, which Sane heads to David Silva, who calmly fires a left-footed shot into the top-left corner. Oh boy. With goals every six minutes so far, Mark Hughes finds himself in full-blown damage control.
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16 min: Hojbjerg wins a free kick in the defensive half but Southampton are quickly dispossessed and Aguero is put through by Bernardo Silva, only for McCarthy to make the save.
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GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Southampton (Aguero, 12 min)
More brilliant wing play for City as Sterling careens into the area and crosses for Aguero, who deposits his 150th Premier League goal in his 220th appearance. Only Alan Shearer, who did it in 212 appearances, reached the threshold quicker.
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10 min: David Silva is fouled by Mario Lemina in City’s attacking half and James Ward-Prowse is shown a yellow for kicking away the ball. Barely stemming the tide here are Southampton.
8 min: Kyle Walker wins a free kick on the right wing, then there’s a pause in the action due to an injury.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Southampton (Hoedt o.g., 6 min)
Silva releases Sane down the left flank and his right footed cross caroms off Hoedt into the goal. Nothing the Southampton defender can do there. And it could be a long afternoon for the Saints. Just electric interplay to start things off for City.
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4 min: City building up from the back and keeping possession without a firm chance to show for it in the early minutes. Bernardo Silva wins a foul on the right flank when he’s fouled by Ryan Bertrand, but his offering toward the back post can’t find a target.
1 min: And they’re off! Southampton attacking from right to left in their traditional away kits, City from left to right in sky blue shirts and white shorts.
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I wouldn’t put money on it being a high-scoring draw today. Saints have managed just six goals this season, while Man City have conceded ... three. That the second-best total for a defence through 10 games in Premier League history. Oh, and they’ve scored 27 too.
Just a reminder, that there will be no Kevin De Bruyne after the Belgian suffered the latest in a string of knee injuries against Fulham during the week. He could be out for up to six weeks:
Teams
Just the nine changes for Man City from the team that played Fulham on Thursday.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Sane.
Subs: Danilo, Kompany, Delph, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Foden,
Muric.
Southampton: McCarthy, Cedric, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand, Redmond, Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Long, Ings.
Subs:
Yoshida, Vestergaard, Austin, Elyounoussi, Armstrong, Gunn,
Obafemi.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
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Bryan will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s what Pep Guardiola had to say about Gary Neville’s recent criticisms:
Pep Guardiola has launched an impassioned defence of his tactics and footballing philosophy after Gary Neville accused Manchester City of getting away with a high number of technical fouls.
José Mourinho made a similar point last season but, working as a pundit when City beat Tottenham at Wembley on Monday, Neville suggested Guardiola’s players were clever at the sort of innocuous foul that stops the game and prevents opponents breaking quickly. He did not go as far as to suggest City players were acting under instructions to play cynically but noted they were good at pushing the boundaries of what is permissible in defensive situations.
“I do not agree with that at all,” the City manager said. “We are not a team that goes looking for these type of situations and I would never ask my players to deliberately foul an opponent. That never happened at Barcelona or Bayern Munich and it will never happen here.
“It is not a secret that when we lose the ball we like to win it back quickly and if you watch us play you can see that when the opponents have the ball we are going to push them and press then to try and regain possession. As Gary Neville knows very well, opponents are not going to stand still and let you do that, they are going to try to play too, so sometimes there will be contacts and sometimes you arrive late.
“I do not say we are perfect, we do commit fouls, and on a pitch like the one Spurs had at Wembley there might be more contact than normal but I don’t think anyone can say we are a team that commits a lot of fouls.”
You can read the full story below:
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