In a 4-0 victory over Southampton, Erling Haaland added to his total of goals, but Joao Cancelo may have been Manchester City’s best player overall. The fact that Southampton didn’t appear particularly distraught by the lopsided devastation at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday may speak more highly of Manchester City than it does of Southampton. The players under Ralph Hassenhuttl may have been happy that the loss wasn’t worse because four goals were the fewest number of goals City has scored at home in the Premier League this season.
With goals from Cancelo, Phil Foden, and Riyad Mahrez in the first 50 minutes, City was completely in control. The most impressive performance of the game was given by Cancelo, a top-tier full-back who is always adaptable and stands out as a playmaker. Haaland, on the other hand, took his time scoring, hitting the inside of the post and failing to somehow connect with a pass from Kevin De Bruyne. But he ultimately scored in the 65th minute, extending his unbeaten streak to 10 games overall and seven straight Premier League outings.
The Performing Side:
Joao Cancelo: Guardiola is fortunate to have such a versatile full-back to rely on with Kyle Walker likely out for City until after the World Cup.
Cancelo is equally capable of defensively playing on either wing, however, his threat is almost greater on the left.
Riyad Mahrez received a beautiful deep cross from the Portuguese, who is a master of the outside foot pass, and he volleyed it just over the crossbar. To respond, he went at James Ward-Prowse alone, turning him inside out and slamming a left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
Kevin De Bruyne: The Belgian made a significant advancement in his ascent to greatness in the history of the Premier League. When he assisted on Phil Foden’s second goal, De Bruyne surpassed City’s previous mark for assists in a career and rose to sixth place on the list of Premier League assists all-time.
With nine goals already in the Premier League, he is getting close to the 20 goals he and Thierry Henry both scored in a single season. That record might be broken this season with Haaland as a teammate and De Bruyne going even better.
The Team: Of course, Erling Haaland eventually scored, but by that point, the contest was already gone. Pep Guardiola will have been happy to learn that City was already comfortably ahead before he scored.
Haaland contributed by forcing Southampton’s center-backs out of position to make room for his teammates, who showed they can also capitalize on opportunities.
Phil Foden: From the Manchester derby, he switched flanks to the left, however, it had little effect on his performance. Even if it wasn’t another hat trick, he still played a key role in the closing third of the game.
With a fast pass that saw him get flattened by Kyle Walker-Peters, Foden allowed Cancelo to drive at Southampton for the opening goal. After missing a one-on-one with Bazunu, he was given another chance less than a minute later and took advantage of it skillfully.
The Losing Side:
Gavin Bazunu: Before his move in the summer, the Ireland international barely ever spent any time in Manchester, spending time on loan at Rochdale and Portsmouth while he was still a member of Manchester City. With City having a buyback option, a debut at the Etihad Stadium was an opportunity to impress Guardiola with his potential.
To keep the score low, Bazunu produced several great stops against Mahrez, Foden, and Haaland. He was also composed and shrewd with the ball in his hands. But he won’t be waiting around for a signal to remove the gloves from Ederson, who was watching from the opposite end of the field.
Jack Grealish: The fact that the £100 million player was sitting on the bench was possibly surprising given his recent strong play.
Grealish has recently played a significant role in a streak of significant victories, and his confidence has recently been reflected in the peaks of his Aston Villa days.
He might have regarded the Saints as a way to increase his numbers because the only thing that has been lacking is the goals and assists.
Riyad Mahrez hasn’t been at his best this year, but Guardiola chose the Algerian because he wanted him to regain his form following a goal and an assist against Copenhagen in midweek. Mahrez scored again, and Grealish missed a golden opportunity after replacing him.
The Defensive Side:
Ederson: A regular showing from the goalie, whose primary responsibility was to launch City offenses when the ball came deep.
Manuel Akanji: In a new right-back position, but he didn’t seem to mind in the least as he continued his stellar performance since his summer swap.
Ruben Dias: There may have been a few awkward moments, but they were only apparent because everyone else was so perfect.
Nathan Ake: He swept away any danger and confidently exited the defense, becoming unruffled once more.
Joao Cancelo: Southampton had no idea how to stop him from making incisive runs and was essentially deployed as a winger.
Last year, Ralph Hassenhuttl twice stopped City, but this time, the Catalan won the tactical conflict. Although Southampton showed bravery in their passing, Guardiola understood how to break it this time, and the game rapidly turned into a contest of how many goals they could score.
For more football highlights and updates, keep watching this space.
