Manchester City didn’t approve of some of Southampton’s tactics during their goalless draw but the club have seen the funny side on social media after Pep Guardiola’s comments
Southampton have poked fun at Manchester City by claiming they got a “point without even trying to play” after accusations of negative football from Pep Guardiola and Ruben Dias.
The Saints, who sit bottom of the Premier League and are preparing for next season in the second tier, held City to a goalless draw as they claimed a point. Guardiola’s side meanwhile were frustrated and will deem it as two points dropped in their pursuit of the Champions League places.
City had more than 70 percent of the ball and had 26 attempts on goal. Southampton meanwhile failed to have a single effort on target as they largely soaked up pressure throughout the 90 minutes at St Mary’s.
The Manchester outfit have long had to deal with teams sitting deep against them, but this was an occasion whereby they couldn’t unlock their opponents as they were forced to settle for a share of the spoils – which didn’t go down well with some of their camp.
City centre-half Ruben Dias lamented the time wasting from the Southampton players with Guardiola echoing that frustration – but the relegated side were more than happy to make light of those accusations with their social media post.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola aims two digs at Southampton as Man City boss defends Erling Haaland riskREAD MORE: Furious Ruben Dias tears into Southampton after Manchester City draw
The Portugal defender said: “It’s frustrating to play against a team like them. They don’t even try to play, just wasting time the whole game. I don’t even feel like they want to play the game or win the game. They are just sitting around. We tried every way. We had chances but we didn’t score. It is what it is.”
Guardiola added: “Difficult. We had chances but unfortunately couldn’t score. [Southampton were] playing to defend and defend and defend and waste time. We take that point still, it’s in our hands.
“Didn’t expect them to defend so deep. Defensive we were so good but unfortunately we missed the last actions. He [Erling Haaland] didn’t expect to play as any minutes but the way the game was played we needed people in the box. That point was really important.”
The point was vital for Southampton and means they move past the Premier League record low mark of 11 points. The Saints are now up to 12 points, which means Derby’s record low from the 2007/08 season remains an unwanted record for the Rams.
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