Manchester City are top of the Premier League table, a position we may all have to get used to. Granted, Arsenal can regain their place at the summit with victory over Liverpool on Sunday and the way Mikel Arteta’s side are playing, they have every chance of doing so. Yet anything less than that and the champions will lead the way by mid-October, and that only seems natural given the sheer supremacy of their play over just about every opponent of late.
After hitting six in last weekend’s Manchester derby and five here in midweek against Copenhagen, there were just the four goals this time against Southampton, but it would be a stretch to describe what the Etihad has witnessed over the past week as diminishing returns.
If anything, Pep Gaurdiola's side are only getting better. Erling Haaland scored again, of course – his 20th in 13 games – but then so did Joao Cancelo, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez. A reminder, as if it were needed, that just because City now have a star attraction, they are still far from a one-man team.
It is likely that this 4-0 defeat will increase the pressure of Ralph Hasenhuttl and perhaps even provide the coup de grace, ending a managerial tenure that has seemed in a precarious position for some time now. At the same time – even after holding the champions to a goalless draw in the corresponding fixture last season – it is hard to see how Southampton’s ambitious owners could have expected any other result.
A spirited display by the visitors deserved better but few teams, if any, can live with City in this form.
Since Sport Republic’s takeover at the turn of the year, the new ownership’s most visible impact at St Mary’s has been to turn Southampton into a “City-by-the-sea”, poaching some of the best young talents from the champions’ academy as well as their new head of recruitment. None of the four City to move to the south coast this summer had made a Premier League appearance at the start of the season, all have since debuted, but only one – goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu –- started against his former club.
Bazunu and Haaland’s paths did not cross in Manchester, with the Republic of Ireland international’s move completed a few weeks before City began pre-season training. Even if they had, Bazunu may have fared no better when Haaland was bearing down on him one-on-one with a quarter-of-an-hour gone. The Southampton goalkeeper was beaten but fortunately, his post wasn’t. Somehow, the ball stayed out, hitting the inside of the upright and running out for a goal kick. It turns out City’s goal-cyborg is human, after all.
No matter. Even with Haaland misfiring, Guardiola’s side have a thousand other ways to hurt you, often out of nothing. The move which led to the breakthrough began innocuously enough, with Foden scooping the ball wide to Cancelo and subsequently being cleaned out by Kyle Walker-Peters in the centre circle.
Play was waved on and Cancelo proceeded to weave his way upfield, dancing into the penalty area where he turned poor Stuart Armstrong inside and out before firing low and hard into Bazunu’s bottom right-hand corner.
Foden was everywhere in the first half and after wasting one opening by firing straight at Bazunu, he would not spurn the next. After being slipped through the inside-left channel by De Bruyne, he drew the Southampton goalkeeper out and lifted a delicate chip over his head. It was De Bruyne’s ninth league assist of the campaign, surpassing the eight he managed in total last season when he was many observers’ choice for player of the year and Foden’s fifth goal in his last six games.
Foden’s reward for his display was to be replaced before the hour mark. By then, City were three up through a much-needed first goal of the season for Riyad Mahrez, who volleyed Rodri’s far post cross into the ground and beyond Bazunu.
The young goalkeeper’s authoritative display – full of confident cross-claiming and alert dashes off his line – had deserved better than to concede three. At least he was still winning his personal battle with Haaland. For now.
It simply had not been happening for Haaland, who inexplicably failed to connect to one low De Bruyne cross that set him up for a tap-in, then took a heavy touch on a through ball from the Belgian, allowing Bazunu to gather. But if you keep presenting him with chances, he will eventually put one away.
A neat one-two between De Bruyne and the wonderful Cancelo resulted in another inviting low cross, set up perfectly for the sweeping left-foot finish that is quickly becoming his trademark. He is inevitable. So too, it feels, is another City title.
