Manchester City continued their fine form by narrowly beating Southampton today thanks to another goal from Erling Haaland.
Haaland managed to beat his marker to slam past Aaron Ramsdale into the roof of the net within five minutes and in the end, it proved just enough.
Haaland could have had more goals on another day but settled for just the one in the end.
For City, getting the win was the most important, while for Southampton, it was yet another game without a Premier League win, despite a spirited performance.
However, while Southampton remain winless, manager Russell Martin has been paid the ultimate compliment as Pep Guardiola admitted he’ll very much be learning from the Saints’ boss and his tactics.
Pep Guardiola praises ‘exceptional’ Southampton under Russell Martin
Speaking to the BBC after seeing his side scrape through 1-0, Guardiola admitted he was impressed by Russell Martin, so much so that he will learn from how his Saints side played.
“Today it was not how they [Southampton] defend deep it was how good they play with the ball with the keeper and the movement. It’s a good game to learn as a manager. I am going to learn a lot with Russell because they did really well. We were humble and accepted that they did really well,” Guardiola said.
“Last two games, Wolves and Southampton, are at the bottom of the league and if this is the level that shows how tough this Premier League is. They played really good. They didn’t create many chances but it was an incredible effort to get the ball from us. We created chances that we couldn’t convert but the result is good.
“The build-up is exceptional. They open the channels. They link well with the striker and every moment makes sense. I knew after what people had said to me about Russell [Martin] and we tasted it today. The players were not bad, they were good. When a team plays that level you have to accept it.”
Southampton still need to do more
While this is nice of Guardiola and is something for Martin to take away on a personal level, the fact remains that Southampton are still struggling for points.
Over the course of the season, Southampton’s board are going to see their patience tested more and more if results don’t come, even if Martin continues to get praise.
Ultimately, football is a results business and while Martin can have his way of playing, if it’s not winning football matches, then it matters little.
Southampton, then, need to start picking points up. And quickly.
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