Manchester City could not find a way along Basement Boys Southampton on Saturday when they pulled 0-0 and Pep Guardiola immediately pointed the finger of the blame on the saints for “waste of time” and defending too much
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola focused on Southampton for “playing to defend” and “waste time” during their disappointing 0-0-gestation at St Mary's but defended playing Erling Haaland despite his note of injury. City dropped vital points in their race to qualify for the Champions League, because they were unable to reach the basement boys, who lost 28 times this season.
City had 72 percent possession of the ball and 26 shots, but only five of them were on goal while they had trouble opening a stubborn saints.
In the meantime, Southampton had to go all the games and zero on goal, where only 258 passes to the 640 of the city were completed, and Guardiola accused them of playing for time and only aimed at defending.
When he was asked for his judgment about the game, the Spaniard said: “Difficult. We had opportunities, but unfortunately could not score. [Southampton were] Play to defend and defend and defend and waste time. We still take that point, it's in our hands. “
He added that despite the disappointing result, the point they grabbed was “really important”, adding to it: “[We] Did not expect them to defend so deeply. We were so good defensive, but unfortunately we missed the latest promotions. “
The match also saw Haaland playing the full 90 minutes after missing the last six weeks because of a single injury, but Guardiola said he was not sorry that he had put him for the whole game, insisting that they needed someone in the box to end their chances.
“He [Erling Haaland] I did not expect that I would play for a minutes, but the way the game was played, we needed people in the box, “Guardiola continued.
Stadsdeveriger Ruben Dias supported his manager's claims about the “frustrating” tactics of Southampton and accused them of “not wanting to play or win the game”.
“It is frustrating to play a team like they,” said the Portuguese international. “They don't even try to play and just waste the whole game.
“I don't even feel that they want to play the game or win the game. They are just around. We have tried all the ways. We had opportunities, but we didn't score. It is what it is.”
Simon Rusk defended Southampton's decision to sit and defend deeply, because he said they had no choice but “to absorb pressure” against a large side as a city.
“We wanted to be as strong as possible against the end of the season,” said Rusk after the game. “We have done that with abundance. We can be proud of it. You have to absorb a lot of pressure against the top. Concentration levels are the key. We did that well. We were at one or two dangerous moments that we could have benefited from.”
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