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Southampton 1-1 Manchester City: Unlucky 13 for leaders as winning run comes to an end

Manchester City's 12-match winning run in the Premier League came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday.

By Daniel Lewis
Kyle Walker-Peters

Southampton, January 23: Manchester City's 12-match winning run in the Premier League came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday (January 22).

The runaway league leaders conceded a first-half goal for just the third time this season through Kyle Walker-Peters' sublime finish on the half-volley after seven minutes.

Southampton had an Armando Broja goal ruled out for offside and continued to pose a threat, though City dug deep and levelled through Aymeric Laporte's 65th-minute header.

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

City dominated possession and looked the more likely side to claim all three points, but they failed to do so in a league game for the first time since October 13.

Walker-Peters gave Southampton a shock early lead with his first Premier League goal after carrying the ball down the right, exchanging passes with Nathan Redmond and sending a controlled outside-of-the-boot strike away from Ederson.

Having survived another scare when Broja had a goal chalked off, City showed signs of life and would have been level before half-time if not for a fine close-range save from Fraser Forster to deny Raheem Sterling, who had plenty of the goal to aim for.

The lively Broja headed against the post from a couple of yards out and Jan Bednarek skewed the follow-up off target, while Rodri skimmed the top of the crossbar at the other end as the game opened up.

Southampton had conceded in each of their last 10 league matches, however, and they were once again undone by a set-piece as Laporte got away from his marker and guided home Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick.

That sparked a City onslaught, with De Bruyne hitting the post from range and having a penalty appeal rejected, but Southampton held on to make it two points from their two meetings with the champions this term.

What does it mean? City's winning run halted

Since they last dropped points in the Premier League - a 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace in October - City had gone from being five points off the summit to 11 points clear ahead of this contest at St Mary's.

That is now a 12-point lead on Liverpool, but the Reds have a couple of games in hand and still have City to face again in three months' time, meaning the title race is perhaps not over just yet.

City outperformed Southampton in terms of the expected goals (xG) value - 1.38 to their opponents' 0.72 - but the Saints more than held their own for large parts as they avoided defeat home and away to City in a single season for the first time since 2002-03.

Sublime Salisu

Southampton centre-back Mohammed Salisu produced one of the finest defensive performances of the season, leading the way for tackles won (five), interceptions (four) and clearances (14).

Indeed, those 14 clearances are the second most of any player in a single Premier League game this season, bettered only by Norwich City's Grant Hanley against Burnley (15).

Sterling struggles

Pep Guardiola once again went without a recognised striker up top and City largely struggled until Gabriel Jesus was brought on in the second half.

Sterling in particular had an off-day, failing to find the net from his two attempts which carried an xG value of 0.46, while Jack Grealish and Phil Foden alongside him managed just one shot on target from five attempts between them.

Key Opta Stats: De Bruyne shines at Saints

- De Bruyne has assisted in all four of his away starts against Southampton in the Premier League (five assists in total)- no player has registered more assists in the competition at St. Mary's for an away side.

- City have conceded first in 14 Premier League matches against Southampton, only going on to win on one occasion - 2-1 at the Etihad in November 2019 (D6 L7).

- Southampton, though, have dropped 77 points from winning positions in the Premier League since Ralph Hasenhuttl's first game in charge in December 2018, at least 14 more than any other team in this time.

- Walker-Peters scored his first Premier League goal on his 68th appearance in the competition (12 for Tottenham and 56 for Southampton).

- Redmond has provided more assists in the Premier League in 2021-22 (5) than he has in any other previous campaign, while no other Saints player has registered more than two in the league this season.

What's next?

Both sides have a two-week break before returning to action with home matches in the FA Cup fourth round, with City facing Fulham and Southampton taking on Coventry City.

Story first published: Sunday, January 23, 2022, 8:27 [IST]
Other articles published on Jan 23, 2022