Match Recap – Manchester City Leave It Late To Beat Saints

Manchester City kept pace with Liverpool at the top of the table after goals from Sergio Aguero and Kyle Walker cancelled out a first half strike from James Ward-Prowse and avoided a second surprise home defeat of the season.

The blues recorded their second win over the Saints this week, and it proved vital as Liverpool also grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat at Aston Villa. But it was far from easy for City against a team that conceded nine at home to Leicester, who decided to err on the side of caution and play defensively against the champions.

City dominated possession as would be expected, but without creating any real chance of not in the first half as the blues failed to record a single shot on target. It gave Southampton hope, and the visitors scored with their first attack of the game. Ederson failed to collect a Stuart Armstrong shot and Ward-Prowse was on hand to tuck the loose ball home in the 13^th minute.

Saints then produced a defensive display to keep the blues out, keeping eleven players behind the ball and showing no further attacking intent, instead they wanted to protect their precious, yet unlikely lead.

It took City until the 70^th minute to register a shot on target, and when it came it resulted in Aguero’s equaliser hammering home Kyle Walker’s cross to send relief amongst the City faithful. And with Liverpool still 1-0 down at Villa Park, another goal for the blues would see the Merseysiders lead cut to just three points.

The goal suddenly sparked City into life and Southampton keeper McCarthy had to be alert to prevent Raheem Sterling from putting the blues into the lead. But City were not to be denied and got the winner with four minutes remaining.

Saints failed to clear Angelino’s cross and Walker picked up the loose ball to hammer home to send City fans wild with delight. News of Liverpool’s equaliser and subsequent winner will have diluted the celebrations a little, but there’s no denying the relief in the stadium at the full-time whistle.

Final Score: Manchester City 2-1 Southampton