A glaring chance was missed by Manchester City against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday as the match ended in a 0-0 draw, which could have gone a long way in consolidating their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
With almost all the possession bar a few, and a barrage of 26 shots, Pep Guardiola failed to produce the moment of brilliance and score against the bottom of the Premier League. Southampton sank deep into a defensive posture with only two rare attacks that did not test Ederson once, to hold the big shots to a rare point.
A lethargic City lacked spark in the first half. Jeremy Doku’s introduction brought the much-needed attacking threat. The Belgian winger carved out City’s best chance for Bernardo Silva, with Jack Stephens making a brilliant block. Substitute Omar Marmoush might have snatched all three points for the Saints in stoppage time as he rattled the crossbar with an exquisite curling effort.
A quiet afternoon awaited Haaland, whilst Ramsdale emerged at crunch time to deny De Bruyne and Dias.
With the draw, City hold third place, four points clear from sixth-placed Nottingham Forest. Southampton climb to 12 points, just shy of equaling the all-time Premier League lowest points tally of 11 set by Derby County in 2007-08. City, on the other hand, have failed to score in six league encounters this term — their worst since 2015-16.
