Pep Guardiola hopes to ‘learn a lot’ from Southampton boss Russell Martin as Man City coach praises ‘incredible effort’ in narrow defeat

It appeared that Southampton were in for a difficult afternoon after Erling Haaland scored after just five minutes at the Etihad Stadium. But the Saints were resilient in defence thereafter, with Haaland struggling after his early goal, and tried to take the game to their opponents; Martin’s side had more possession than City midway through the first half, and they completed a respectable 461 passes in the match.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Martin has come under criticism for his refusal to change his ways after seeing his tactical approach yield not a single win in the Premier League. Southampton are bottom of the table and their insistence of playing out from the back has led to some costly errors, but Guardiola was impressed by what he saw from the visitors, praising their “incredible effort” at full-time and admitting he will learn from Martin’s approach.

  WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

  “Today it was not how they [Southampton] defend deep it was how good they play with the ball with the keeper and the movement,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “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.

  “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 and we tasted it today. The players were not bad, they were good. When a team plays that level you have to accept it.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY AND SOUTHAMPTON?

  City now face four away games on the bounce, starting with a trip to London on Wednesday for their Carabao Cup round-of-16 meeting with Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham. Southampton host Stoke City in the cup competition on Tuesday.