Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was not happy with the 2-0 defeat against Southampton in the English League Cup as the Citizens bowed out of the competition. It has been a competition that Manchester City have dominated in recent times and for them to falter in such a way was very shocking. City has won the title six times since 2014 speaking volumes about their domination.
However things are not going their way this season with Arsenal leading the Premier League and also early exit from the League Cup since in as many seasons. It was for the third time in Guardioila’s tenure that his team failed to even have a shot on target. Also first time for the Spaniard since 2018 so it was really a stinker from the City players as they were not in the game completely.
Speaking about his team’s failure to even take a shot on target, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager shared that to be the exact reason for their defeat and exit from the tournament. “That’s the reason why we were not good,” he told Sky Sports when asked about that statistic after the match.
The Saint were put forward by a strike from their 20-year-old French striker Sekou Mara in the 23th minute. It came as a shock for the City players as the hosts struck first blood. While they hardly recovered from the first goal, Southampton came up with another strike and this time it was Moussa Djenepo. The talented Malian was audacious in his approach as he pulled off a sensational chip after he spotted City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega off his line. The lob was accurate as it left Ortega with no answers at all.
Once they scored twice within the first half an hour of the game, the saints were defending deep and thwarted every City attack despite having lower than 30% possession.
Guardiola was very practical with his assessment as he shared how they did not start well but lauded the opponents for being the better team. “The better team won. We didn’t play good, we didn’t play well in the beginning. There are many games you can start not good and overcome and we didn’t do it. Today was a bad night, the opponent was better so we have to congratulate them. To win games you have to deserve it and tonight we didn’t deserve it.”
Lastly the Spanish tactician shared how his team will not stand a chance against arch rivals Manchester United if they play like they did against Southampton in the EFL Cup.
“It’s a different competition, of course, but if we perform in this way we don’t have a chance,” he said. “I know the momentum they (United) have.
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions and hence it will be a very exciting clash between two teams looking good. So Guardiola’s claims are totally right as City will struggle if they replicate their performance against Southampton in the Manchester Derby.
