Manchester City booked a comfortable home win in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. The Citizens had no child at Southampton and thanks to João Cancelo, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Erling Braut Haaland won convincingly 4-0. With the win, City will at least temporarily take over the lead from Arsenal, which will play at home against Liverpool on Sunday.
Josep Guardiola had made a base place against Southampton for Nathan Ake, who remained on the bench for the entire game in the Champions League match against FC Copenhagen (5-0) last Wednesday. Kevin De Bruyne and Foden also returned to the starting lineup. The visitors showed from the first whistle that they had come to the Etihad Stadium to limit the damage. City started brightly and immediately handed out a first achievement via Mahrez.
?? City ahead! With this wonderful move, João Cancelo puts ‘The Citizens’ ahead against Southampton. Live: https://t.co/m0OT3ERExz#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball #MCISOU pic.twitter.com/5H6HnbVANI
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) October 8, 2022
Southampton was barely able to cross the center line in the first act. Haaland has been accurate in City’s last eight games and quickly seemed to extend this series on Saturday afternoon, when he was cleared for goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. The Norwegian scoring machine passed Southampton’s closing post, but had to watch the ball come back into play through the inside of the post.
After just under twenty minutes, the deserved lead for the home team was a fact. Cancelo was able to steam up the left wing, then tricked his direct opponent James-Ward Prowse with a hood movement to hit the goal in the long corner: 1-0. With half an hour on the clock, Foden managed to double the margin. The attacker initially encountered Bazunu, after which he pinned the ball over the outgoing goalkeeper some ten seconds later on a pass from De Bruyne: 2-0.
?? Who else… Erling Haaland puts Manchester City on a 4-0 lead after more than an hour of play. Live: https://t.co/m0OT3ERExz#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball #MCISOU pic.twitter.com/SUYS8Zut5p
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) October 8, 2022
Southampton proved incapable of attacking. The Saints had intended to start the second half stronger, but Mahrez quickly closed the game. The Algerian international was played by Rodri and then found the long corner with a nice volley: 3-0. Guardiola’s team let the reins loose after this, although Haaland was still chasing a goal. The striker had missed several great opportunities, but in the end was able to share in the festivity. The striker freed himself well and printed on a pass from Cancelo: 4-0.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 23 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 17 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 14 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 12 |
| 8 | AFC Bournemouth | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | -12 | 12 |
| 9 | Fulham | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 11 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | Everton | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 12 | Brentford | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 10 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 14 | Aston Villa | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -4 | 8 |
| 15 | West Ham United | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 7 |
| 16 | Southampton | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -9 | 7 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -3 | 6 |
| 18 | Wolverhampton W. | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -9 | 6 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -9 | 4 |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -15 | 4 |