Manchester –
Pep Guardiola was impressed with <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/premier-league-hasenhuttl-is-amazed-you-dont-see-that-every-day/" title="Premier League – Hasenhüttl is amazed: "You don't see that every day"”>Southampton‘s approach to play. The Manchester City manager praised Soton’s courage in provoking his team’s pressing.
Man City narrowly won 1-0 when they hosted Southampton at the Etihad Stadium, Saturday (26/10/2024) evening WIB, in the continuation of the Premier League. The hosts generally dominated the match, but how Soton played their part stole the attention.
The team made by Russell Martin tried to provoke Man City’s pressing and pass them with a series of short passes. They are targeting fast attacks built by the goalkeeper.
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One of them resulted in Soton’s best chance, at the end of the first half. Cameron Archer escaped and was left facing Ederson, but his shot still hit the crossbar.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola said Soton made his team work hard to limit threats. The bottom team successfully humbled Man City at the Etihad.
“Today is not about how they defend deep, but how well they play with the ball, with the goalkeeper and their movement. This is a good match to learn as a manager,” said Guardiola, quoted by the BBC.
“I will learn a lot with Russell, because they are playing very well. We are humble and accept that they are very good. The last two games, Wolves and Southampton, were at the bottom of the league and if this is the level, it shows how tough the Premier League is.”
“They played very well. They didn’t create many chances, but there was an extraordinary effort to take the ball away from us. We created a lot of chances that we couldn’t finish, but the results were good.”
“The way they build the game is extraordinary. They open up the lanes, connect well with the strikers and every move makes sense. I knew this after what people said about Russell and we felt it firsthand today,” he added.
(raw/bay)