Manchester City draws against Southampton

Manchester City said goodbye to their impressive winning streak after twelve games in a row. The Premier League leaders crashed against Southampton's defensive wall, who took the lead with a Walker-Peters goal and only conceded a mistake in Laporte's goal.

The clash started off uneventful. The first thing the Sky Blues did was to take control of possession to demonstrate, once again, their loyalty to Pep Guardiola's philosophy. They succeeded, but the feeling that remained was that something more was missing, an extra that did not come in the whole first half.

The Saints, on the other hand, were not willing to submit to the current Premier League leaders. They were always looking for high pressure and a way to make their opponents uncomfortable. Suddenly, nine minutes into the game, they found themselves ahead on the scoreboard thanks to Walker-Peters' goal. After a good connection with Redmond, the latter gave the ball back to him and the number 2 put together a powerful shot to beat Ederson.

Southampton were a defensive barrier

The home side's goal caught City off guard and they could not find the key to disarm their opponents. Southampton gained confidence with the 1-0 lead and took the initiative. They had the chance to extend their lead with a goal from Broja that was disallowed for offside.

One of the keys to neutralizing Pep Guardiola's team was the commendable defensive work of the Saints, led at the back by an immense Salisu, who appeared in practically every offensive action of the visitors to frustrate their plans.

To make matters worse, the Sky Blues clashed time and again against Forster's goal. The goalkeeper played a great game, saving his team on numerous occasions. In the first half alone, he blocked a shot by Grealish in the 27th minute and saved a close-range shot by Sterling in the 38th minute, in a play that was City's clearest action before the break.

Second half

At the start of the second half, the intensity returned for the visitors. The match entered a frenetic dynamic of offensive actions and had a new protagonist: the three posts. It appeared to harm both teams, although it was City who were the worst. Its first act was in the 54th minute, with a Broja header that ended up spitting the woodwork to avoid the 2-0.

The Sky Blues tried again and again, but Southampton's defensive solidity did not crack. They only did so on one occasion, and the punishment was overwhelming for Ralph Hasenhüttl's side. De Bruyne put in a cross from a set-piece and Laporte was on hand to finish the ball unmarked with a powerful header to show his opponent that there can be no concessions against Pep Guardiola's side.

The minutes passed and Manchester City were unable to score again, so they had to settle for a well-deserved draw for both sides. With the 1-1 draw, Southampton gained the privilege of not having lost to the Sky Blues this season and having stopped their meteoric trajectory of 12 consecutive victories.