Player ratings as Cityzens romp to top of the table

Manchester City strolled to a 4-0 Premier League victory at home to Southampton, climbing to the table of the table on Saturday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s side showed no signs of sluggishness after their Champions League exertions in midweek. Within the opening minute, Joao Cancelo had skipped down the left flank, putting a ball into the box which Riyad Mahrez thumped towards on target.

City peppered Southampton’s goal – with Erling Haaland hitting the post – during an opening quarter of an hour which was painfully (and prophetically) one-sided.

Southampton held City to a pair of league draws last term by employing a carefully choreographed high press high-wire act. However, their eagerness to close City down on Saturday left the visitors exposed.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side got sucked over to the left flank trying to pen City in, leaving oceans of space for Cancelo to speed into on the other side. Jinking away from Stuart Armstrong with a breezy drop of the shoulder, Cancelo fizzed a vicious low effort between Armel Bella-Kotchap’s legs and into the bottom corner.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, City doubled their lead, inching towards an advantage that more accurately reflected their dominance. A turnover for City in the centre circle sparked a devastating surge spearheaded by Kevin De Bruyne.

The brilliant Belgian delayed and delayed before rolling the ball into Phil Foden‘s stride. With Gavin Bazunu charging off his line, Foden delicately dinked City’s second of the afternoon into the net.

The beleaguered visitors had to wait until the final minute of the first half to attempt their first shot in anger of the contest. They didn’t muster another one until the 86th minute.

Southampton’s bright conclusion to the first half proved emphatically misleading. Within four minutes of the restart, Mahrez volleyed in City’s third. After a drive down the left from Cancelo, the Saints were effortlessly unbalanced by Rodri’s clipped pass to the opposite flank. Mahrez had ample time to watch the ball onto his laces, thumping his effort into the turf and past a helpless Bazunu.

City had sauntered into their suffocating ascendency without the direct intervention of Haaland. The inevitable, insatiable frontman ended his drought 65 minutes into proceedings. While Cancelo and De Bruyne exchanged a blur of passes down the left, Haaland sniffed out the space in the box, sweeping in his 20th goal of the season across all competitions.

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