Grealish reaches new heights
It seems a distant, strange memory now but even towards the end of last year there were still questions hanging above Jack Grealish's head as he continued to struggle to reach the heights expected of him at Manchester City. Those days are long forgotten now, though, as the forward has now firmly established himself as an undroppable presence in Pep Guardiola's side.
His goal against Southampton was the first time he has scored in back-to-back games for City and while the stat itself is pretty meaningless it does show the consistently high level he is now playing at. Grealish was excellent on the south coast, beguiling in possession and such a driving force up the pitch. A tidy assist for Erling Haaland's stunning overhead kick put the cherry on top.
Also read: City player ratings vs Southampton in 4-1 win
A risk pays off
Winning every Premier League game is obviously crucial as the battle with Arsenal rages on. Still, Guardiola did take a bit of a risk in naming such a strong side ahead of Tuesday's visit of Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Throwing Haaland straight into the starting XI was certainly a bold call.
The Norwegian had just recovered from a three-week layoff with a groin injury and it would have been a disaster had he reaggravated the problem ahead of such a crucial run-in. Yet, everything went brilliantly. City had the game all sewn up by the hour mark and that meant Haaland, as well as Rodri, Nathan Ake, Riyad Mahrez and John Stones were all taken off and wrapped in bubble wrap ahead of facing Bayern. Add the strong warning sent to the Bundesliga champions with the performance, City couldn't have hoped to prepare any better.
Ruben the rock
It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Southampton are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and they made life difficult for the Blues in the opening half an hour. They pressed them well, minimised Haaland's involvement and caught City out on several occasions. With more cutting edge up front, there could have been another shock at St. Mary's.
Unfortunately for Saints, City also have Ruben Dias. City have not lost a game in which he has played in 2023 and his return to the side has had a huge impact, as he displayed on Saturday. On three different occasions, he had to swoop in to clear danger, whether that was cutting out passes, clearing balls or blocking shots. However many trophies City end the season with, Dias will have played a huge role in winning them.
A weakness to the formation?
Though it didn't matter in the end, that spell of Southampton pressure was illuminating as it hinted towards a weakness in Guardiola's new formation: pace. The Blues boss has been deploying a 3-2-4-1 lineup in recent weeks with Stones moving from midfield to defence and it has worked a treat.
However, it does leave City exposed in wide positions and vulnerable in quick transitions. Southampton winger Kamaldeen Sulemana got plenty of joy on both flanks and City really struggled with his rapid pace and directness. Guardiola introduced Kyle Walker and reverted to a standard back-four early in the second half and Southampton got into nowhere near as many dangerous positions afterwards.
Thomas Tuchel may well be watching with interest because Bayern have the speedy quartet of Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane who could cause City some serious damage if the same thing happens again. It will be food for thought for Guardiola ahead of the match.
De Bruyne reaches an impressive milestone.
Kevin De Bruyne was sublime in the final 10 minutes of the half as he created three chances for Haaland with the third finally being converted on the cusp of halftime. It was a perfectly delivered cross that gave the Norwegian the simplest of headers to convert.
The assist took De Bruyne's tally to a massive 100 in the Premier League. He is now only the fifth player ever to reach the impressive milestone and he's done so quicker than the other four. He took his tally to 101 in the second half as he was up-ended for the penalty and would have had another if Grealish finished his goal on the first attempt.
Ryan Giggs holds the record with 162 and you wouldn't put it past the brilliant Belgian to surpass him one day but Frank Lampard (102), Wayne Rooney (103) and Cesc Fabregas (111) could see themselves slipping down the table before the season concludes.
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