10 May 2025
Southampton 0 Man City 0
Southampton are just looking to enjoy their remaining games in the top-flight now with their future decided some time ago. They welcomed Man City to St Mary’s with the visitors still in a tight race to secure Champions League qualification. On paper, this was just the kind of fixture that Pep Guardiola’s side needed at the business end of the season.
Both sides welcomed key players back into their starting line-ups as Dibling returned for The Saints, while Man City had striker Haaland leading the line once again. Ironically, Southampton have put a £100m price tag on their young winger for any vultures looking to pick at the scraps of their relegated squad, twice what the visitors paid for their free-scoring forward. Madness.
Man City dominated the early stages as they got into their passing game. De Bruyne was bundled over just outside the box and a free-kick was awarded. The Belgian lifted a teasing cross into the back post but Southampton managed to clear it behind for a corner before any of Guardiola’s side could react and put it in the back of the net.
De Bruyne was causing all sorts of problems for The Saints. His running with the ball, utilising his silky skills, all seemed to be too much for the hosts. Once again he was bundled over just outside the box. The Belgian stepped up to take it but his effort sailed narrowly over the crossbar with Ramsdale beaten, if only it had been a foot or two lower.
Despite all their possession, Man City struggled to create clear-cut chances. In fact, it was debatable if Haaland even had a single touch of the ball in the first-half. This has been a problem for Guardiola’s side for some time now, dominating the ball but lacking penetration in the final third. It is an issue that the Spanish manager is struggling to find an answer to.
After the break, Doku won a ball in the corner that he had no right to. The Southampton defender looked to jockey it out of play before it struck the corner flag. The Belgian winger robbed him of the ball but his cross into the box was woeful, almost as bad as the attempted clearance. That fell to Kovacic on the edge of the box but the Croatian’s shot was easily blocked by the hosts.
Foden looked to skip past Fernandes but ended up in a heap on the floor. He looked at the referee, demanding a free-kick, and after a pause for thought the official gave it. The time he was taking to make decisions almost seemed as though he was pandering to the visitors requests for decisions. The City midfielder stepped up to take it but his curling effort towards the back post went narrowly wide.
Haaland was having a wrestling match at the back post but, try as he might, he could not get a telling touch to send it into the goal. It was the first time the Norwegian striker had really featured in the game up until this point, underlining how poor the supply had been for him from his teammates. This match was crying out for a goal to spice things up a little.
As Doku continued to tease the hosts’ defence with his pace and trickery, he cut the ball back from the byline to Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder drilled a shot past Ramsdale but Stephens was there on the line to hook it over his own crossbar. It was the closest we had come to a goal in this game with 70 minutes having been played.
It was tough to decide whether the scoreline reflected some good defending by The Saints or whether Man City were truly this blunt in attack. Haaland ran into the box and looked to put it on a plate for O’Reilly but the youngster could not sort out his feet quickly enough to get a shot away. It was another big chance wasted by the visitors.
The closest the visitors came to scoring was when Bernardo Silva clipped a teasing ball into the box but the header from Dias was clawed over the crossbar by Ramsdale. Deep into added time, a short corner was worked towards substitute Marmoush. He unleashed a left-footed effort that came crashing back off the crossbar as the Egyptian held his head in his hands.
Southampton held on for a massive point that saw them eclipse the unwanted record of the lowest points tally in Premier League history. Dias attacked the style of the hosts in his post-match interview, saying they do not try to play football and just look to waste time. It all seemed like sour grapes from a side who had failed to score a single goal against the worst team in the league.
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