Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 1-0 Southampton (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City continued their rich vein of form with a 1-0 victory over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s men made it five wins on the trot courtesy of an early goal from talisman Erling Haaland, who took his tally to 11 league goals for the campaign.

Matheus Nunes was rewarded for his brilliant midweek showing against Sparta Praha in the Champions League – and the Portuguese capitalised on another start by setting up the Norwegian as City picked up another three points.

Despite going down early, the Saints enjoyed a fair spell of possession and nearly levelled proceedings by hitting the crossbar in the dying moments of the first half.

It was one way traffic for much of the second half but Russell Martin’s side maintained their threat on the counter attack in search of their first point of the season.

City face a midweek trip to north London ahead of their Carabao Cup Round of 16 tie against Tottenham, whom they beat in a monumental title race clash towards the back end of the previous Premier League winning campaign.

Match Ratings

Ederson – 7/10

A fairly regular day at the office for the Brazilian, who was not threatened on more than a few occasions but did step up his game in the second half after he seemed to have been beaten when Southampton nearly equalised on the cusp of half-time.

Rico Lewis – 7/10

Tidy as always and ever so reliant on the ball, the young Englishman was running strings in the middle of the park as he stepped into midfield when City enjoyed possession whilst fulfilling his defensive duties.

Manuel Akanji – 7/10

Back in a Premier League lineup after starting alongside recent talisman John Stones in midweek, the Swiss international won his headers and provided a sense of calm especially in the dying stages of the game when Southampton hoped to clinch an equaliser.

Ruben Dias – 7.5/10

Was on the job when Southampton did threaten in the first half and moved the ball around well throughout as City moved between the right and left to slice open the Saints defence.

Josko Gvardiol – 7/10

Didn’t have his shooting boots on today but hey, he’s a defender! He combined well with the likes of Silva and Nunes on the left side of attack, which proved to be pivotal throughout in producing attacks for the hosts.

Mateo Kovacic – 7/10

Commanded the midfield, picked up a yellow card and came close to adding to his tally of three league goals of the season but Kovacic has made his name as one of the Guardiola’s most reliable technicians having impressed since the opening day win at Chelsea.

Bernardo Silva – 7.5/10

Manchester City’s most effective player against a well-drilled team, Silva’s underlapping runs behind the Saints defence were a regular occurrence in the first half before he dropped into a deeper role in the second half.

Phil Foden – 7/10

Can’t be faulted for effort but he’s got a few gears he can switch up, Foden was limited in his more central role but that’s a lot more credit to Southampton’s resolute defending than a slight on the Stockport wizard’s display.

Savinho – 8/10 (MOTM)

Was full of tricks, skills, feints and cheeky dribbles and the Brazilian could have found the net in the first half had he showed better judgement but Manchester City have an absolute magician on their hands.

Erling Haaland – 7.5/10

He could have added a few more to his name but the Norwegian made the telling difference for his side before he was taken off for Stones in added time.

Matheus Nunes – 7/10

Delivered after being started on the left wing after a scintillating performance in the Champions League this week – and Guardiola’s faith paid off as he set up Haaland for the winner with a nicely-weighted cross within five minutes.

Substitutes:

Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10

Injected some much-needed energy in midfield in the second half as City chased a second goal.

John Stones

Came on in the dying moments for Haaland to help protect City’s slim advantage.