Pep Guardiola has challenged ‘incredible’ Man City player to ‘continue’ his top form after Southampton victory 

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Manchester City sealed their seventh Premier League victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Southampton.

Erling Haaland bagged his 11th goal of the season to secure City the three points after failing to find the back of the net in their three prior league matches.

With nine matches played, Pep Guardiola has seen his side win seven and draw two, still as the only club in the division to not lose a league game.

Despite seeing Haaland grab the match-winning goal against the Saints at the Etihad Stadium, the City manager was full of praise for another figure from his squad who also featured in this latest victory.

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Pep Guardiola praises Mateo Kovacic after Southampton win

When asked about Mateo Kovacic’s performance against Southampton and his form in general this season, Guardiola gave this assessment to BBC Sport.

He said: “He’s an incredible man and player. We miss Rodri a lot this season, he’s such an important player. At the same time, we have to continue to do it.”

Kovacic showed his defensive capabilities against Southampton

Having started eight of the nine Premier League games he’s appeared in this season, bagging three goals along the way, the Croatian has been a vital figure for the Blues.

However, Kovacic showed against Southampton how useful he can be from a defensive point of view.

Specifically, the 30-year-old marked six tackles and two interceptions to help City keep just their second clean sheet of the campaign, which is more tackles than any other City player made on the day.

The midfielder’s overall performances this season have earned him a season rating of 7.11/10 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest-rated player in the City squad.

As Guardiola mentioned, City will be without Rodri for the rest of the season due to the knee injury he suffered in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September.

Therefore, it’s likely that Kovacic will continue being a prominent figure in City’s team.

With the Blues having a tough run of league fixtures facing them – and an unfortunate amount of injury issues – it’s understandable why Guardiola has urged Kovacic and the rest of his players to keep their form up.