Southampton March On To End Manchester City 12-Game Winning Streak. Southampton hung on for a well-earned draw at St Mary’s to snap Manchester City’s 12-game winning streak in the Premier League, leaving the leaders 12 points ahead at the top.
Kyle Walker-Peters opened the scoring in the seventh minute after a nice one-two with Nathan Redmond, tapping the ball into his path before blasting past Ederson on the bounce.
With 25 minutes remaining, Kevin de Bruyne curled a free-kick into the head of Aymeric Laporte, and the unmarked defender nodded beyond Fraser Forster.
Moments later, De Bruyne hit the post, while Rodri and Gabriel Jesus also hit the crossbar. Raheem Sterling was also denied by Forster’s knees from close range from a great chance in the first half.
It provides Liverpool and Chelsea with a glimmer of optimism in the championship battle, with both clubs having a chance to make up ground when they play on Sunday.
A resilient defensive performance from @SouthamptonFC, as shown by @Oracle ✋#SOUMCI pic.twitter.com/qFVF0SqO9X
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 22, 2022
The Reds, who are second in the table and have two games in hand, go to Crystal Palace, while Chelsea, who are third, face Tottenham. Southampton is now 12th in the Premier League table, having gone undefeated in their last eight home games.
Southampton have made St Mary’s a difficult place to visit this season, losing only one game at home and extending their undefeated streak to eight games. Guardiola had already stated that his team faced a “great task,” and it became much more difficult when the Saints opened the score.
It was a goal City would have been pleased of, with Oriol Romeu spreading play to the right and Walker-Peters orchestrating a nice interchange with Redmond before hammering the looping ball into the far corner on his 68th appearance.
Armando Broja also finished well after being passed through, and while being offside on that occasion, the Chelsea loanee remained a danger, headed against the post from a tight angle in the second half.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl urged his team to “be brave with the ball” and “not park the bus,” with the visitors buoyed by a goalless draw in the rematch earlier in the season.
They were obliged to drop deeper to stop the rising City threat, and when Laporte headed in the equalizer, it seemed as if a City victory was certain.
City had 15 efforts in the second half as they went for their 13th victory in a row, but the home side held on to gain a point thanks to a defiant performance from home defender Mohammed Salisu and some superb saves from 33-year-old goalkeeper Forster.