Saturday was a big blow for Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team.
City travelled away to the Premier League’s bottom team in Southampton and only managed to come away with a 0-0 draw, which could have an impact on the Manchester club’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 66 | 33 | 33 | 68 |
| 3 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 68 | 45 | 23 | 66 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 67 | 43 | 24 | 65 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 62 | 43 | 19 | 63 |
| 6 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 56 | 49 | 7 | 63 |
Gary Neville expected Man City to beat Southampton, which was the feeling everyone in the football world had, however, Guardiola’s men could not break down a stubborn Southampton side, which led to a big talking point after the contest.
Ruben Dias had some very harsh words to say about the Saints’ game plan and now BBC Sports pundit Chris Sutton has had his say on the topic.
Chris Sutton says Ruben Dias sums up Man City this season
“It’s obviously frustrating to play against a team like this. They don’t even try anything. They just sit and they don’t even want to win the game,” Ruben Dias said about Southampton after Man City drew with the Saints on Saturday. “They just want to be there. And it’s not good for the show. It’s not good for themselves.”
Many in the football world have been critical of Dias’ words, and Sutton is the latest, stating that the defender’s excuses sum up Man City this season, as the Manchester club have lacked ruthlessness.
“Unbelievable. Yeah, he said, he said, the pitch was dry and the sun was hot,” Sutton stated on Football Daily’s Monday Night Club about what the Southampton groundsman told him after Saturday’s game. “I mean, that did tickle me. Nobody knew that.
“And the Groundsman, yeah, the Southampton Groundsman called in 606, said they did everything they could. They watered it before the game. They watered it at halftime.
“I mean, classic case of sour grapes, every excuse under the sun. That sums up Manchester City this season, where they just haven’t had that ability in games to be as ruthless as they once were. And he took it out on poor old Southampton.”
Dias has been a big hit at Man City since his £65m move from Benfica in 2020; however, this was not the Portuguese star’s finest hour in a sky blue shirt.
It was easy to see why Dias was frustrated, as Man City could have had a man advantage for the entire second half had Lesley Ugochukwu picked up a second yellow.
The result leaves City with work to do across their final two games, while the point on Saturday was huge for Southampton, whose game plan has been defended by Theo Walcott.
Theo Walcott defends Southampton for Man City approach
Man City’s team costs significantly more than the one Simon Rusk lined up on Saturday, and in order to get a result, the Southampton boss opted to keep his team compact against Guardiola’s men, which frustrated the Manchester club.
The Spanish coach’s starting team also did not help, with Man City fans surprised Jeremy Doku did not begin the game, and as a result, Walcott has defended the approach his former club took into the contest.
“What are they meant to do? Southampton, they are playing a way of just beat us,” the pundit said on Football Daily’s Monday Night Club.
“They got a point and you get anything out of those games, you’re happy with, you know, particularly when you are right down there. It just says more about, like Chris was saying, Man City trying to find a way. Look, they played the system. They play that way, beat us. They couldn’t beat them. It worked.”
Man City fans will hope their team do not rue the result at St Mary’s this weekend, as missing out on Champions League football would be a huge blow for the Manchester club heading into the summer.
