Man City seemed to have 3 easy points when traveling to St. Petersburg. Mary's in the match of round 36 of the Premier League. The home team has been relegated for a long time and has only won 11 points since the beginning of the season. However, in the context of needing 3 points to be sure about the Champions League ticket for next season, City could not score.
The script is still very familiar. The away team dominated from the first minute to the end. Man City even had shots that hit the crossbar but they only got 1 point away. This result still helps Man City maintain 3rd place but it will be 4th if tonight, the match between Newcastle and Chelsea does not have a draw.
To talk about Man City's regret, it is possible to mention a notable statistic. Before the clash with Southampton, the visitors were on a 29-match unbeaten streak in matches against the relegation zone (25 wins, 4 draws). They have scored 44 goals and only conceded 1. That said, the draw against Soton was a huge shock for Pep Guardiola.
It is very difficult for Man City to slip out of the Top 5 after the end of the season, but there is still a chance of it happening. However, for Pep Guardiola, this match also left him with imperfect psychological preparation before the FA Cup final.
One of the alarming signals is the accuracy of the strikers on The Citizens. In the first half, City controlled the ball up to 73% but only 1 shot hit the target. The main striker Erling Haaland almost lost the toothpick when the opponent was too tight. The last 14 goals of City were scored by 10 players. This shows that Pep diversity is under construction when the storm traumates the attack. However, this was not recreated at St. Mary's.
It was not until the 60th minute that Haaland touched the ball 8 times. Although Southampton could not create an earthquake with the victory, their performance will be a great practical example for Crystal Palace to learn from, thereby adding confidence in the victory at Wembley.
This season has been a very bad time for Phil Foden, Man City's best star last season. When Pep was given the starting role against Southampton, the English striker could not do anything. Foden's decline has been one of the reasons for Man City's ups and downs this season.
The only bright spot was Jeremy Doku's fast-paced dribbling and dribbling. If he is at his best, the Belgian star will take the starting position on the left wing. Doku has also failed to make continuous contributions this season due to injury, but he has returned at the most important moment.
The FA Cup final is not as important as elevating Man City because they have had so many greater glory in the past 7 years. However, in an unsatisfactory season, it was the only way for everyone to confidently look forward to the new season and still maintain the performance of a top tycoon.
