According to reports, Southampton, who are at the bottom of the Premier League table and preparing for the Championship next season, secured a goalless draw against Manchester City. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola’s team, despite dominating possession and statistics, failed to secure a win, dealing a significant blow to their Champions League qualification hopes.

City had over 70% possession and took 26 shots, while Southampton didn’t register a single shot on target, focusing solely on defending and countering attacks.

Many teams have adopted a defensive approach against Manchester City in recent years, but this time, City failed to break down Southampton’s resilient defense and had to settle for a draw—something that frustrated some City players.

Ruben Dias, Manchester City’s center-back, criticized Southampton’s time-wasting tactics, saying: “Playing against a team like that is really frustrating. They didn’t even try to play; they just wasted time. I didn’t feel like they wanted to win. They just sat back and killed time. We tried everything. We had chances but didn’t score. That’s how it is.”

Pep Guardiola also commented: “It was a tough game. We had chances but unfortunately couldn’t score. Southampton just defended and wasted time. Still, we accept the point. Everything is still in our hands.”

“We didn’t expect them to sit back so much. Defensively, we were very good, but we made mistakes in the final moments. Haaland wasn’t supposed to play, but given the game’s flow, we needed a presence in the box. That point was very important.”

While Dias and Guardiola criticized Southampton’s defensive tactics, the club’s official social media account humorously posted: “We got a point without even trying to play!”

The importance of the point for Southampton: This was a crucial point for Southampton, taking them to 12 points and keeping them ahead of Derby County’s record-low 11 points in the 2007-08 season. Thus, Derby retains the record for the worst Premier League performance in history.