Southampton hand City a defeat: Guardiola scripts an unwanted record
Che Adams scored his first goal for Southampton since joining the club as the hosts beat Manchester City 1-0 in Sunday night's Premier League fixture. The thirteenth-ranked Southampton won their 13th fixture, whereas, this was Pep Guardiola's side consecutive third away defeat. In their previous two away games, City lost to Manchester United (0-2) and Chelsea (1-2). With his, Guardiola scripted an unwanted record.
Here is how the match panned out
City launched a series of attacks throughout the game, however, Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy blocked every single attempt. He saved a powerful drive from Raheem Sterling and a mighty header from David Silva after Fernandinho struck the post, in the first half. Although City side had 74 percent possession and managed 20+ shots, an early goal by Adams stole the tone for Saints.
City hold the second spot in the standings
Manchester City remain second with 66 points in the latest Premier League rankings. They are 23 points behind the top-ranked Liverpool, as they were crowned champions last month. Interestingly, City defeated the Reds 4-0 in their previous home fixture. Guardiola, who took over at The Etihad in 2016, has never lost three straight away league games before in his managerial career.
Guardiola's managerial record at City
Under Guardiola, City have won 108 games from 147 matches and lost 21. They have also drawn 18 games. He led City's title-winning campaign in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season and was named Manager of the Season for the same.
'We create a lot of chances', says Guardiola
Guardiola explained the reason behind City's defeat to Southampton. "We're leading in goals. We're a team who concede less, no team conceded as few chances as us but we lost a lot of games," he said. "It's difficult for me to find a reason why but you have to insist and talk about the game, concede as few as possible and score up front."
Ralph Hasenhuettl hailed the team effort
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl termed the victory as his side's best home performance in a while. "If you have a goalkeeper playing like him, it is normal that he isn't always in his goal. Our goal was to be clinical and quick in your mind, and it was an unbelievable first touch and goal from Che," he said.
