Manchester City’s push to ensure football from the Champions League for next season has undergone an extremely surprising setback when they were held in a 0-0 draw by relegated Southampton.
City had the chance to go to second place in the Premier League with a victory on the team ordered to finish the bottom of the season.
However, they won their lines despite the long -awaited return of Erling Haaland of an ankle injury, Southampton standing to keep their first white sheet since November.
This means that City lacks a chance to get six points from the gap in the sixth Nottingham forest in the race for the champions League squares. The first five will qualify for the Champions League, but City will be jumped on the table in the event of a winner in the massive Sunday match between Newcastle United and Chelsea in St James’ Park.
Southampton against Manchester City
Haaland was restored to the departure XI as one of the five changes brought by Pep Guardiola from last week’s victory over the Wolves, but his team had a hard time doing a large part of their predictable domination of possession.
Their best chance of the opening half came when Kevin de Bruyne dipped a free kick on the edge of the area closely on the transverse bar.
The opportunities were not easily to come to start the second half despite the introduction of Jeremy Doku on the left flank, although Southampton’s defense is more and more desperate while City turned the screw in their quest for a decisive objective.
Haaland failed to connect with Phil Foden’s deliveries while the Norwegian endured a frustrating afternoon and, when City was able to test Aaron Ramsdale, they found the goalkeeper of Southampton in good shape.
Ramsdale posted great reflexes to deny Manuel Akanji of De Bruyne’s Ball, before Savinho and Nico O’reilly each grouped their lines with the gaping goal after the square pass of Haaland.
Savinho and Ruben Dias were thwarted by a double backup of Ramsdale, with Marmoush the following of the frustration experience while his effort was eliminated in a race in the box of six yards.
The Egyptian was the man who got closer to the impressive resistance of Southampton when he whispered an effort against the crossbar in the 91st minute with Ramsdale beaten, with luck for once on the sides of Southampton as they stood firm to claim a point which means that they go beyond the record of the county of Derby for the least of the first league points.
Southampton now has 12 points, one more than Derby succeeded in 2007-08, but it is a dead end that could have much more important consequences at the other end of the table in two weeks.
