Premier League: Manchester City drop crucial points as Southampton hold Guardiola's men for goalless draw
Southampton : Manchester City squandered the opportunity to solidify its position in the top five after being held to a goalless draw by the relegated Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday.
If Manchester City ended the fixture on a winning note, they would have gone level with the second-placed Arsenal on points. However, a draw took the Blues to 65 points and left them in touching distance of a spot in the next year's Champions League with the rest of the aspirants, including Newcastle United, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
After securing a solitary point, five points separate third-placed Manchester City and Aston Villa, who occupy the seventh spot. Manchester City will square off against Bournemouth and Fulham in their final two fixtures as the race for a spot in the UCL is set to go right down to the wire.
Throughout the fixture, Manchester City dominated 70 per cent of possession, but a resilient defensive performance from the hosts denied them three points.
Southampton, who have conceded 82 goals across the 36 games so far, managed to keep Manchester City at bay. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, along with the defensive pair of Jack Stephens and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, fended off everything that Manchester City's attack threw at them.
Manchester City almost broke the stalemate, but Bernardo Silva's effort was cleared off the line by a stunning piece of effort from Stephens. Jeremy Doku and Marmoush offered plenty of explosiveness at the wing, but Southampton effectively dealt with it.
"The second half was much better, but they defended so deep. I didn't expect it. We had four or five chances, and unfortunately, we could not score," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said after the match as quoted from Sky Sports.
"We could not do it. They were so defensive and defended so deep. We have three games left, three finals. Today was a massive game for us. We have been on an incredible run. It is always difficult. There were 11 players in the 18-yard box, it is difficult. It is what it is," he added.
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