Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw at Southampton that leaves them looking over their shoulder in the race for the top five places and UEFA Champions League qualification.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Man City huffed and puffed but never did enough to blow the door down, with Erling Haaland enduring frustration on his return from injury.
Omar Marmoush came closest for the visitors when he came off the bench and hit the crossbar in stoppage time, but Pep Guardiola's side failed to score with any of their 26 shots - their highest tally in a Premier League match without scoring since, coincidentally, they had 26 away against Southampton in July 2020.
Southampton's gutsy performance earned them the point they needed to avoid sharing the unwanted record of being the Premier League's worst ever team. This draw took them to 12 points, beating Derby County's record-low tally of 11 in 2007/08.
Man City stay third but are only four points clear of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest in the top-five race.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +35 | 74 |
| 3 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +28 | 71 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +21 | 69 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +21 | 66 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +7 | 66 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | +12 | 65 |
How the match unfolded
An Expected Goals (xG) total of 0.03 from Southampton versus Man City's 0.67 at the break told the story of a first half devoid of goalmouth action.
Flynn Downes did defend brilliantly to stop Josko Gvardiol meeting a whipped set-piece from Kevin De Bruyne, who also saw a 20-yard free-kick clip the roof of the net.
The half-time introduction of Jeremy Doku at least brought more directness into City's attack, and his driving run into the area and cutback for Bernardo Silva led to Jack Stephens hacking the dug-out effort over his own crossbar from inside the six-yard box.
Doku almost found Haaland from an electric counter-attack but was thwarted by Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale was unsurprisingly busy in the closing stages, tipping over Ruben Dias's header and parrying away Savinho's prod at goal prior to Marmoush's whipped effort inside the area that smashed against the bar, but it remained deadlocked at full-time.
Rusk's low block pays off
Saints' interim manager Simon Rusk spoke in the build-up to the match about how he would love to be more adventurous with his set-up but has doubts about his side's ability to compete at both ends of the pitch.
But he will have been pleased about how his side nullified City's team of superstars.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek and captain Jack Stephens constantly threw themselves at the ball to protect their goal.
Things got noticeably more difficult as the match wore on, with goalkeeper Ramsdale increasingly busy in goal. But he played his part to keep City at bay and, in truth, deserved a little help from the crossbar to keep out Marmoush.
Southampton’s final two Premier League fixtures before returning to the Championship come against Everton, in the Toffees’ last top-flight match at Goodison Park next Sunday, and Arsenal, who they welcome to St Mary’s Stadium on the final day.
Haaland struggles to make impact on his return
Man City fans will have loved to see Haaland back in the starting line-up for the first time since the end of March due to an ankle injury, especially with the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace just a week away.
But the Norwegian striker struggled to get involved in the opening 45 minutes, managing just five touches, although there was one particularly inviting ball from Phil Foden that he would have nodded in had it been a few inches lower.
Guardiola knew he needed some more impetus in attack and Doku did provide that, with Saints full-back James Bree probably the most disappointed man at St Mary's to see the Belgian come on at half-time.
But City still struggled, as they lacked the calm and precision that they have become so synonymous with in the Guardiola era.
A late onslaught, which included Marmoush's near moment of brilliance, failed to break Saints' resolve and the visitors could not find a way through.
Following their date at Wembley Stadium next Saturday, City face AFC Bournemouth and Fulham in their final two Premier League fixtures of the season.
Club reports
Southampton report | Man City report
What the managers said
Simon Rusk: "Going into the game, we wanted to make it clear that we wanted to finish the season as strong as possible with lots of pride. We delivered that really well. Delighted for the fans and the players. My job is to support the players as much as possible.
"The players stood up and it took a lot of courage to deliver that performance. It is important to build momentum for next season."
Pep Guardiola: "Difficult. We had chances but unfortunately couldn’t score. [Southampton were] playing to defend and defend and defend and waste time. We take that point still, it’s in our hands. Didn’t expect them to defend so deep. Defensive we were so good but unfortunately we missed the last actions.
"He [Haaland] didn’t expect to play as any minutes but the way the game was played we needed people in the box. That point was really important."
Remaining PL fixtures
Key facts
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 an opponent.
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.
Man 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).
City had 26 shots in this match, which is their most in a Premier League game without scoring since July 2020 - also 26 against Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.