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Perfectly poised with 10 minutes to play here in Manchester. It’s been a weekend in the Premier League in which many of the top-eight teams have struggled, with Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton all dropping points. Are City next to follow or will they complete the turnaround and move back to the top?
HAS TO TO BETTER! Boufal is having himself quite an impact off the bench. A lovely bit of running sees him break into the final third before picking out Austin, but the striker puts his shot too close to Bravo in the end, allowing the keeper to parry.
Kelechi Iheanacho has really made a difference since coming on. He just showed lovely feet to feed Gundogan whose shot lacked zip and was well saved by Forster. With his performances earlier in the season and now this cameo the 20-year-old is staking a claim for a place in the starting line-up again.
END-TO-END! A great chance for Silva who has a clean look at goal, but his effort proves rather ambitious as he can’t beat Forster at the near post. Back the other way come Southampton, but Martina fails to pick out the final pass as a five-against-two is wasted.
City in rapid ascension here in the second half. Kolarov finds space on the left, but Martina does well to prevent his cross from going through, putting it behind for a corner. The subsequent delivery comes to nothing as Kompany is deemed to have fouled Van Dijk in the air.
City have been so much more lively after the break. Guardiola’s removal of De Bruyne seems to have sped up City’s play and the man he brought on Iheanacho just rewarded the Spaniard with a smart finish. They needed players running into dangerous areas and that’s just what the young striker did. It was a sensational ball by Fernandinho to Sane and good awareness from the winger to pick out the substitute.
Before his injury Kevin de Bruyne was Pep Guardiola’s shining light but the Belgian has been hooked off at half-time. Whether it’s just a tactical move or the Spaniard is unhappy with his star creative midfielder is uncertain but the City manager wasn’t willing to hang around. Maybe they can fashion some more opportunities with two strikers on the field. Pep Guardiola looks on during the first half
Harsh one here on Kolarov. Austin recognises he’s not going to get on the end of a heavy touch, and throws himself at Kolarov in the process looking for the foul, one he gets - and the City defender is booked as a result.
The City supporters realise their side is in need of a lift, so they start a loud cheer out of the blue in the hopes of inspiring something. It sees Aguero go on a jaunt into the final third, picking out Silva on the left, but the Spaniard waits so long to pick out a pass that Southampton get the bodies back that they need to snuff it out.
John Stones’ gift has seen Nathan Redmond send Southampton into the break with the lead, and it’s nothing more than they deserve given the work they put forth in that first half. Stones appeared to equalise minutes later, but a controversial offside on Aguero denied them, while this has otherwise been a City side bereft of any real quality going forward.
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