Man City striker Erling Haaland had an afternoon to forget against Southampton (Image: Getty)
Manchester City moved two points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League after beating Southampton 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Pep Guardiola's side remain the only unbeaten team in the top flight this season and now have a club record 32 matches without defeat.
Erling Haaland scored his 11th goal of the campaign with a driven finish to beat Aaron Ramsdale and the champions dominated possession. Cameron Archer hit the crossbar just before half-time to warn City, who were traveling in second gear.
Haaland was guilty of two shocking screamers in the second half as the Norwegian failed to double the lead. But City were never in danger of losing their lead. Express Sport analyzes the hosts' performance with these Man City player ratings after defeating winless Southampton.
Ederson 6
A mere passenger for the first 44 minutes before Archer's shot hit the upright and had little else after that.
Rico Lewis 7
Officially slotted in at right-back, the 19-year-old barely spent a minute in his own half and excelled further out. He pressured and sprinted to win the ball, and made himself available when City won it back, while completing 41 of 42 passes. Is there a player who embodies Guardiola's tactics like him?
Akanji 6 Manual
Composed in possession but some lapses in concentration in defense. Glad to see Archer's effort come back over the bar when he was caught sitting too deep for City's high line.
Rubén Dias 7
Made some crucial interventions in the first half when Southampton were encouraged and set an example at the heart of the backline.
Rico Lewis covered every blade of grass for Man City (Image: Getty)
Josko Gvardiol 7
Powerful behind and in the management of aerial duels, the marauding left-back was able to advance at will without anyone to score at his side.
Mateo Kovacic 6
Without Rodri, the Croatian was tasked with dictating play in central areas and looked solid throughout, without achieving some of the feats of previous weeks. Reserve.
Bernardo Silva 6
Combined well with Gvardiol and Matheus Nunes on the left. The hard-working central midfielder covered a lot of ground, mostly making unselfish runs to create space for players like Haaland and Foden.
Matheus Nunes prepared Erling Haaland's first match (Image: Getty)
Phil Foden7
The Englishman was given a central role behind Haaland and was keen to keep the ball as much as possible. Certainly one of his liveliest performances this season.
Savinho 8
It seems more like the new Riyad Mahrez in every match. The Brazilian exudes confidence in the way he takes on defenders and, even when Southampton doubled up on him, he still found a way through. Also fizzed in a few dangerous crossovers. In this form, it will be difficult to let him down.
Mathéus Nunes 7
With Jack Grealish still absent, Guardiola created a surprise by starting the Portuguese on the left flank in place of Foden or Savinho. It worked wonderfully, however, as his cross found Haaland to give him a rare assist. Finally, the £45million has found a role that suits him in this team.
Erling Haaland scored but missed two big chances for Man City (Image: Getty)
Erling Haaland 6
It took just six minutes to end his three-game Premier League drought, showing his strength to hold off his marker and score the opener. But the Norwegian should have come away with at least a hat-trick and was guilty of glaring misses – somehow failing to put two meters over the net on two occasions.
Substitutes
Ilkay Gundogan (in 1985) N/A
John Stones (on 90+6') N/A
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1967609/Man-City-player-ratings-Southampton-Haaland