Manchester City 0-0 Southampton: Shot-shy Man City fortunate to draw with Saints

A strangely shot-shy Manchester City could not find a way through a resolute Southampton side and ended up fortunate to get a draw despite the noisy backing of the home fans at Etihad Stadium.

The visitors were awarded a penalty on the hour mark when Kyle Walker was sent off for bundling Adam Armstrong over in the box, but both decisions were overturned when VAR intervened and referee Jon Moss watched replays of the incident.

Armstrong had burst into the box after City had again given the ball away cheaply but, despite being first to the ball he was adjudged to have fouled Walker as the City defender attempted a challenge.

That reprieve brought a raucous response from the City supporters, who had already been making themselves heard all afternoon, but they could not galvanise their side.

City thought they had snatched victory right at the end of the 90 minutes when Raheem Sterling followed up after substitute Phil Foden’s header was saved, but he was flagged offside as he converted the loose ball and a lengthy VAR check did not over-rule the decision.

Saints remain winless after sharing the points for the fourth time in five league games, while the draw leaves City three points behind leaders Liverpool.

A lively crowd, but City look lethargic

This was a frustrating 90 minutes for City boss Pep Guardiola, but this time he cannot argue his side’s fans did not do their bit.

Any suggestion that Guardiola’s controversial midweek comments asking more City fans to come to this game might cause a rift between him and supporters were emphatically answered from the off.

The City fans in a near-capacity 53,500 crowd serenaded their manager within 70 seconds of kick-off, singing “we’re glad all over, we’ve got Guardiola” and kept the volume up throughout.

If Guardiola’s intention was to get the crowd going immediately, it worked – but while the crowd was lively, his players looked lethargic for long spells against a well-organised and hard-working Southampton side.

It was far from one-way traffic, either. City had to be wary of Tino Livramento’s frequent breaks forward down the right and Adam Armstrong also impressed with his work on and off the ball.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has not enjoyed his visits to these parts too much in the past few months, with his side shipping 14 goals in heavy defeats at City and Manchester United last season, but a much-deserved point should give him reason to celebrate at last.

Player of the match

BrojaArmando Broja

with an average of 8.36

Manchester City

1. Squad number10Player nameGrealish

   Average rating

   4.69

2. Squad number31Player nameEderson

   Average rating

   4.38

3. Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias

   Average rating

   4.23

4. Squad number6Player nameAké

   Average rating

   4.08

5. Squad number17Player nameDe Bruyne

   Average rating

   4.04

6. Squad number27Player nameJoão Cancelo

   Average rating

   4.04

7. Squad number47Player nameFoden

   Average rating

   4.01

8. Squad number2Player nameWalker

   Average rating

   3.93

9. Squad number8Player nameGündogan

   Average rating

   3.91

10. Squad number20Player nameBernardo Silva

    Average rating

    3.91

11. Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus

    Average rating

    3.88

12. Squad number26Player nameMahrez

    Average rating

    3.82

13. Squad number7Player nameSterling

    Average rating

    3.80

14. Squad number25Player nameFernandinho

    Average rating

    3.75

Southampton

1. Squad number18Player nameBroja

   Average rating

   8.36

2. Squad number9Player nameArmstrong

   Average rating

   8.26

3. Squad number15Player namePerraud

   Average rating

   8.24

4. Squad number21Player nameLivramento

   Average rating

   8.12

5. Squad number2Player nameWalker-Peters

   Average rating

   8.10

6. Squad number6Player nameOriol Romeu

   Average rating

   8.08

7. Squad number22Player nameSalisu

   Average rating

   8.07

8. Squad number35Player nameBednarek

   Average rating

   8.06

9. Squad number24Player nameElyounoussi

   Average rating

   8.02

10. Squad number10Player nameAdams

    Average rating

    7.96

11. Squad number5Player nameStephens

    Average rating

    7.86

12. Squad number1Player nameMcCarthy

    Average rating

    7.82

13. Squad number11Player nameRedmond

    Average rating

    7.79

14. Squad number8Player nameWard-Prowse

    Average rating

    7.48

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