Southampton and Manchester City will both feel like they had good chances to win their game at St. Mary's, but neither will be too disappointed to walk away with a point. Both teams had spells of dominance in an evenly matched encounter that fittingly ended 1-1.
Southampton vs. Manchester City: Final score 1-1, a point well-earned for both teams
Manchester City won’t be too disappointed with grabbing an away draw against a very good top-half side, while Southampton will be encouraged by their performance against a title contender.
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City got off to a fast start and got on the scoreboard early through red hot forward Sergio Aguero. Aleksandar Kolarov set up his goal with an overlapping run down the left flank around Samir Nasri, who fed him with a pass. Kolarov hit a cross towards the center of the box that evaded multiple players from both teams before falling to Aguero, who smashed in a finish from 10 yards.
The Saints responded well and started to control possession in City’s half not long after the goal, but it took a piece of individual brilliance for them to equalize. Pablo Dani Osvaldo came up with a goal of the season candidate in the 42nd minute, beating a large cluster of City defenders before curling a stunning finish around Costel Pantilimon. He made multiple cutback moves to keep the ball while being crowded and somehow got the ball up and down, over the hand of the 6’6” Pantmilion and into the net from a narrow angle on the left flank.
Southampton always looked more likely to find a winner in the second half, but never produced one. Osvaldo had the best chance of the half in the 53rd minute off a rebound after Jay Rodriguez had a shot saved, but he put his effort well over the bar. Despite having most of the possession and plenty of set piece chances, the Saints had to settle for a draw.
Southampton: Gazzaniga, Shaw, Lovren, Fonte, Chambers, Cork, Davis (Reed 90’), Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez, Osvaldo (Lambert 77’), Lallana (Ramirez 85’)
Goals: Osvaldo (42’)
Manchester City: Pantilimon, Kolarov, Kompany, Demichelis, Zabaleta, Nasri, Fernandinho, Toure (Dzeko 79’), Milner (Garcia 62’), Aguero, Negredo (Navas 62’)
Goals: Aguero (10’)
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