Manchester City put themselves at the top of the Premier League table with their 1-0 win over Southampton.
A fifth-minute goal from Erling Haaland was all that was needed to land City their seventh victory of the campaign.
With nine matches played, Pep Guardiola’s side have won seven and drawn two, giving them 23 points, although they will go back to second if Liverpool beat Arsenal on Sunday.
Having been at the Etihad Stadium since 2016, the City boss has faced off against numerous sides and a wide range of managers along the way.
Following this latest win against the Saints, who the 53-year-old has now tussled with on 18 occasions, Guardiola admitted something that may have surprised a lot of football fans.
Pep Guardiola admits he got taught a lesson in Man City vs Southampton
Speaking to Sky Sports (via BBC Sport) after seeing his side secure their narrow victory against the Saints, Guardiola gave this honest assessment of what he saw from the away side.
He said: “Today it was not how they defend deep it was how good they play with the ball with the ‘keeper and the movement.
“It’s a good game to learn as a manager. I am going to learn a lot with Russell because they did really well. We were humble and accepted that they did really well.
“Last two games, Wolves and Southampton, are at the bottom of the league and if this is the level that shows how tough this Premier League is. They played really good.
“They didn’t create many chances but it was an incredible effort to get the ball from us. We created chances that we couldn’t convert but the result is good.
“The build-up is exceptional. They open the channels. They link well with the striker and every moment makes sense.
“I knew after what people had said to me about Russell [Martin] and we tasted it today. The players were not bad, they were good. When a team plays that level you have to accept it.”
Bernardo Silva said Southampton were so ‘tough’ to play against
Guardiola wasn’t the only person at the Manchester club to admit how impressed they were with the Saints, as Bernardo Silva gave this honest verdict about how Southampton played against City.
He said: “It was a tough game, a tough game where we had to run a lot.
“We scored early which we thought would make the game a little bit easier but it didn’t. Even when we had our chances to end the game with a second or third goal, we didn’t do it. We made it more difficult for us.
“Credit to Southampton, they made it difficult for us. Their patterns are very good, they deserve a lot more than what they’ve got in the Premier League. They’re a team that is playing with the ball.
“They put us into a lot of difficult areas of the pitch and made us run more than we are used to. We had to suffer to get the three points but we are happy with the three points.
“Three points is three points. It’s a win so we’re happy. I will have to check the game again but in terms of finishing, we could have finished one or two more plays. A lot of credit to them. It was a tough job for us today.”
While Guardiola is used to seeing his side dominate possession, City only had 57% of it on this occasion, with Southampton making 479 passes in total compared to the home side’s 616.
Across his managerial career, the City boss has overlooked 894 matches in total, whereas Martin has just 244 under his belt.
So even though Guardiola has much more experience than the Saints boss when it comes to football management, it’s nice to hear him appreciate his opponent and admit that he still has room to learn from less-experienced coaches such as Martin.
