Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 14 points with a thumping victory over Southampton.
As expected, City dominated the opening stages and they took the lead on 15 minutes, when Phil Foden sidefooted a shot from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross straight at Alex McCarthy from close range, and Kevin De Bruyne was well positioned inside the six yard box to tap the ball in off the crossbar.
Ten minutes later, Southampton were handed a route back into the match, when referee Jon Moss awarded the visitors one of the softest penalties of the season. A corner was whipped in by James Ward-Prowse and Jannik Vestergaard rose highest to direct a header towards goal, which was parried back towards him by Ederson, the Dane then falling backwards following a suspected shirt pull by Aymeric Laporte as replays showed minimal contact. Ward-Prowse converted the spot kick, firing straight down the middle.
On half an hour, City were yet again on the wrong end of another decision when Saints keeper Alex McCarthy miscontrolled a pass back to him in the box, the man between the posts then catching Phil Foden as the midfield youngster pounced on the loose ball. No penalty, said VAR.
City needn’t have worried, because five minutes before the end of the half, Che Adams played a blind crossfield pass straight to Riyad Mahrez, who drove towards the box and curled a delightful left footed effort straight into the far corner. Moments later, the home side seemed to put the game beyond any doubt before halftime, Ilkay Gundogan tapping into an empty net from five yards out after Mahrez’s effort hit the base of the post.
City started the second half exactly how they ended the first, making it 4-1 on 55 minutes when Mahrez collected Foden’s pass from right in the box, the Algerian then turning and rifling an effort into the back of the net from 14 yards out.
A minute later, Southampton pulled a goal back, Adams redeeming himself for his earlier error by collecting Stuart Armstrong’s deflected effort in the area and slotting past the desperate dive of Ederson.
But once again, City were feeling at their ruthless best, making it 5-2 moments later – the fourth time they’ve scored five in a league match this season – as Foden’s layoff to De Bruyne on the edge of the box was expertly finished by the Belgian.
City’s defence had their blushes spared when Adams had a good effort denied by the offside flag in the 90th minute as the Blues recover from their loss to Manchester United in fine style, while Southampton slip to 14th.
After the match, Pep Guardiola made his feelings clear about the VAR decisions that were made during the game.
“It’s just incredible the penalty was not given,” the Spaniard said.
“Jon cannot see it. It’s happened but VAR is there for this. I don’t understand it.
“VAR is here to help. In these four and a half years, everything we have won, it’s for absolutely us. No-one has given us anything. Zero.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl, meanwhile, admits that he was happy with the way his side played but knows the task that lies ahead.
“We showed a very brave performance in the first half. I’m not disappointed about the performance. There must be a reason why you are 21-games winning in a row and one of the best teams in the world.
“We have showed we can play against such a team. I would have been more unhappy if we hadn’t been brave.
“Every weekend is tough for us. This was more a bonus game for us but we’ve got games now where we have to take points.”
