The last name Southampton wanted to see on the Manchester City team sheet, having conceded 82 Premier League goals and as they searched for a point to avoid the indignity of equalling the lowest points tally ever recorded, was that of Erling Haaland.
After five weeks out with an ankle injury the striker with 84 goals in 94 Premier League games was back in cahoots alongside chief creator Kevin de Bruyne, whose 14 goal contributions against Southampton made them his favourite punching bag over the last decade.
It was a recipe for potential humiliation, a fill-your-boots type of afternoon that could also have put Pep Guardiola’s side level on points with Arsenal in second and given them momentum heading into next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.
Instead, Southampton kept their first clean sheet since December and prevented Manchester City from scoring against the team bottom of the league for the first time since November 2015.
City’s frustrated players trudge off at the end (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The Norwegian missed the previous seven games, but Guardiola decided to give him the full 97 minutes in the final game before Wembley. Haaland had managed just eight touches by the hour mark and his only shot came in the 92nd minute.
By now, we know that Haaland can be invisible for the majority of the game. When he scores a hat-trick from just 10 touches he is a genius. On the occasions he does not have a sniff and City struggle to create, there is an existential debate as to whether the man who averages near enough a goal a game compromises too much of the team’s overall rhythm.
Saturday’s 0-0 draw fell into the latter category as he was starved of space by Southampton’s ultra low block, but the real issue was the absence of pace and directness that saw City fall into the laboured style of a few months ago.
Rather than consolidate the progress and stability that has been found in recent weeks, Guardiola decided against continuity and made five changes to the team that beat Wolves 1-0.
The back four of Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly, which had started five of the last six, was altered with Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji coming into the defence. Ilkay Gundogan, Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush dropped to the bench for James McAtee, Phil Foden and Haaland.
City have now made four or more changes to the starting line-up in 14 Premier League games this season, the most of any side. Their 107 changes so far is their most since 2020-21 (136).
It was experimenting during the injury crisis that allowed Guardiola to rediscover some stability and rhythm in their play, but none of the attacking trio were able to have an influence on the game.
As the pass maps below show, Southampton’s caretaker boss Simon Rusk sought no brownie points for aesthetics. Guardiola defended Southampton’s right to play how they saw fit even if Dias considered their approach anti-football.
“They don’t even try anything, they just sit and they don’t even want to win the game,” said the Portuguese defender.
“They just want to be there. It is no good for the show and no good for themselves.”
It turned out that it was actually good for Southampton, whose battling draw produced a huge roar from the St Mary’s crowd at full-time as they moved to 12 points and avoided the tag of being the joint worst team in Premier League history alongside Derby County’s 2007-08 team.
City’s 264 passes in the opening 35 minutes produced only two shots at goal. The ball was endlessly circulated around the box and crossing opportunities were missed or balls to the back post were often overhit.
It was only when Doku came on as a half-time substitute for McAtee — Guardiola admitted that he realised soon into the game his team needed wingers — that City began to access the byline and get into positions where they could supply Haaland with ammunition.
He narrowly missed getting on the end of several crosses in the second half as space started to open up, and should have had an assist in the second half after squaring the ball to Savinho who was unable to convert.
Guardiola encourages the returning Haaland on the touchline (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Guardiola now has to decide whether one full match is enough preparation to play Haaland from the start in the FA Cup final.
“I’ll have one week to think about it,” said the City manager. “I don’t know: the truth is it’s been five weeks off. It’s not like Phil (Foden), for example, like Savinho, like in two, three, four training sessions fit. He’s a big man and needs maybe a little bit more time, but it was really good to play today 97 minutes. I could not expect (him) to play as much, but for the way they’re playing, for the football there, we need it.“
If Haaland is deemed ready, what does that mean for Marmoush?
City struggled to create high-quality chances for much of Saturday’s match and a goal only felt inevitable when he joined the action in the final 13 minutes.
It was a surprise that Marmoush was not in the team given how quickly he has asserted himself as a key player with seven goals and three assists in his first four months at the club. He re-emphasised that in his short cameo with his speed, directness and efficiency the antidote to City’s pedestrianism.
The Egyptian’s impact, and how he changed the energy in the team, was undeniable.
Marmoush shoots under pressure from Southampton’s Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
In the 91st minute he raced onto a loose ball and rattled the crossbar with a rasping strike from the edge of the box. Moments later he picked the ball up on the left flank in his own half and burst 40 yards down the line and into the penalty area, which ended with O’Reilly appealing for a penalty.
Since joining from Frankfurt in January, the 26-year-old has had to be adaptable. He has played as the sole centre-forward, as part of a split striker duo, as a No 10, on the left wing and on the right wing.
Marmoush has started five times with Haaland, but what Guardiola has yet to do once is start all three of Haaland, De Bruyne and Marmoush together.
Could Guardiola break the mould and play all three at Wembley, while maintaining the team’s balance?
“Yeah, the problem is to keep the balance, you’re right,” he said. “So the second half, I started a different approach defensively and I didn’t like it and I had to change again to bring Bernardo in the middle and Phil outside. So there is a balance, but I didn’t know this subject (statistic).”
Guardiola could combine Marmoush and Haaland centrally but it would surely mean leaving out his captain De Bruyne, denying him the chance to lead his team to one final piece of silverware before he departs.
If the Belgian plays as the No 10 with Haaland is up front, Marmoush would have to start out wide. No matter where, you sense that City need a player of his verve in the team at Wembley.
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)