Saints be praised as City’s run ends
AYMERIC Laporte spared Manchester City’s blushes as the Premier League leader was held to a 1-1 draw at Southampton, while Manchester United moved into fourth place after Marcus Rashford’s last-gasp goal sealed a 1-0 win against West Ham on Saturday.
Manchester City was rocked by Kyle Walker-Peters’ first top-flight goal in the opening minutes to throw down the challenge.
After a poor first half by its high standards, Pep Guardiola’s side kicked into gear after the break and an equaliser looked imminent.
Spanish defender Laporte headed the equaliser but City could not extend its winning streak in a one-sided finale that saw the visitors lay siege to the Southampton goal.
The champion had to settle for a result that left it 12 points clear of second-placed Liverpool, which has two games in hand when it faces Crystal Palace.
For the first time since it was beaten 2-0 by Palace on October 30, City finished a league game without all three points.
“Why should we lose belief in what we have done? It was a good performance. We are going to drop points but the way we behave is very good,” Guardiola said.
“People will say the Premier League race is not over but that
is good for this side.” At Old Trafford, Ralf Rangnick’s side was kept at bay until the third minute of stoppage time.
Edinson Cavani crossed for fellow substitute Rashford to score his second goal in successive games.
After a VAR check for offside, the goal was awarded as interim boss Rangnick celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in charge.
It was a crucial victory for United in its fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish.
United moved one point above West Ham, knocking David Moyes’ men out of the top four.
Tottenham and Arsenal would go back above United if they win their matches against Chelsea and Burnley respectively.
“If you score in the last second of the game that is the best type of win, a clean sheet. I think in the end we deserved to win,” Rangnick said.
“Bearing in mind we played a few days ago against Brentford, the team looked physically good.”