Pep Guardiola has an extremely fond memory of St Mary’s Stadium. It was here on the final day of the 2017-18 season that he watched Gabriel Jesus score a stoppage-time winner to ensure Manchester City finished as the Premier League champions with a record 100-point haul.
It was a number at the opposite end of the spectrum that provided a prominent sub-plot this time. Southampton kicked off on 11 points, level with the all-time lowest haul by a team in the competition – that collected with apologies by Derby in 2007-08. Could Southampton, who had suffered so much, get something to lift them clear of the unwanted association?
The chances felt slim beforehand, particularly with Erling Haaland back in the City lineup after a six-week ankle injury lay-off. But by the end, the answer was a stirring yes. After a performance of discipline and burgeoning resilience, the Southampton interim manager, Simon Rusk, had held Guardiola’s side to a scoreless draw and the ground was rocking. “Sorry if we got your hopes up, Derby,” the Southampton X account posted, even if having 12 points from 36 games is surely not so worthy of banter.
City might have had one eye on next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, but they still wanted a win to pull them level on points with second-placed Arsenal, albeit with an inferior goal difference before the London club’s trip to Liverpool on Sunday. They wanted to win a fifth league game in succession for the first time this season. And they wanted a result to allow them to breathe a little more easily in the push for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.
It did not happen and the last target is not yet certain, Guardiola admitting afterwards that he expected it to go down to City’s final game at Fulham. His team were dreadfully flat in the first half and they stirred too late, the closest they came during a flurry towards the end being a blast by the substitute, Omar Marmoush, that came back off the crossbar.
City dominated the shot count 26-2, although only four of them were on target, and their frustration was summed up by the centre-half, Rúben Dias, who essentially accused Southampton of being anti-football. Rusk’s 5-4-1 system certainly left little to the imagination of his players; he knew that going toe-to-toe with City was not an option. And if Guardiola’s team had rediscovered a few of the old certainties in recent weeks, they were unable to do anything in the first half.
City gorged themselves on possession and territory, working their patterns, coming this way and then that. Repeat and repeat. There was no tempo, and it was hard to remember anyone in sky blue beating his man before the interval. Very little happened, apart from Kevin De Bruyne popping one free-kick over the crossbar and another into the wall.
● Manchester City failed to defeat a side starting the day bottom of the table in the Premier League for the first time since November 2015 (0-0 vs Aston Villa), with that also the last time they were unable to score against such opponents.
● Manchester City have failed to score in four of their last 11 Premier League games, as many blanks as in their previous 55 in the competition. Indeed, City have failed to score in six Premier League games this season – their most in a single top-flight campaign since 2015-16 (8).
● Southampton have kept a clean sheet in the Premier League for the first time since December last year against Fulham, ending a run of 18 games without a single shutout in the competition.
● Manchester City had 26 shots in this match, which is their most in a Premier League game without scoring since July 2020 – also 26 and against Southampton at St Mary’s.
Lesley Ugochukwu, on a yellow card for a foul on Mateo Kovacic, diced with disaster when he stopped City from taking a quick free-kick just before half-time. He could have been sent off. Perhaps the referee, Tim Robinson, was lulled by the apathy. There have probably been duller halves of football this season. It was just difficult to say which ones.
There was more life after the break, the home fans incensed when Robinson penalised Tyler Dibling for a foul on Josko Gvardiol when it appeared that the Southampton winger had got past his marker. There would later be a flare-up between Jan Bednarek and Haaland.
Guardiola introduced Jérémy Doku for James McAtee at the start of the second half and the winger made a difference. It was his cutback that offered Bernardo Silva a chance, Jack Stephens just about clearing the City player’s shot up and over his own crossbar. Doku nearly fed Haaland on a City counter. And it was a genuine counter because Southampton were able to make a few forays upfield.
City turned the screw in the closing stages and the chances started to come. Manuel Akanji had a header pushed out by Aaron Ramsdale while Haaland put a square ball just behind the onrushing substitute, Nico O’Reilly. Another replacement, Savinho, could not get a Haaland header to sit down for him while Dias extended Ramsdale.
Southampton put their bodies on the line. Their fans increasingly lived on the end of their nerves. It felt as though City were lining up the decisive blow but when Marmoush shot against the crossbar at the beginning of stoppage time that would be that for them. In the sixth of the seven additional minutes, yet another replacement, Cameron Archer, threatened the heist at the other end. Ederson had his angles covered but it did nothing to douse the Southampton celebrations.
