Laporte urges Man City to stay focused after winning run ends
Aymeric Laporte says runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City must not lose focus as they head into a fortnight’s break on the back of dropping points for the first time since October.
City’s impressive winning run was halted at 12 top-flight games by Saturday’s frustrating 1-1 draw at Southampton.
Defender Laporte headed thevisitors’second-halfequaliser but, despite dominating possession,theycouldnotfind acrucialsecond,withKevinDe BruyneandsubstituteGabriel Jesuseachdeniedbythewoodwork.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions do not return to action until an FA Cup fourthround tie at home to Championship club Fulham on February 5, while their next league outing comes four days later when Brentford visit the Etihad Stadium.
“I think we played really well and maybe deserved more, but if we don’t score more than one goal it’s very difficult,” Laporte said.
“We have to stay focused and keep doing like we have thelastfewweeks.We’vedone agreatjob,nowwefocusonthe nextone.Wehavetoworkalittlebitmoreonotherthingsbut this is the way we have to play.
“Sometimes you win when you don’t deserve it and we got a point when we maybe deserved a little bit more.”
Spain international Laporte was sent off the last time City failed to win in the league – a shock 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace almost three months ago. On this occasion, the centre-back headed home a delightful De Bruyne free-kick with 25 minutes remainingtoclaimhisthirdgoal of the season.
Itwasthesecondtimethis season that City failed to beat Saints following a 0-0 draw in September, with Laporte pointing to the size of the St Mary’sStadiumpitchasacontributing factor.
“They have good players andthepitchissmall,soforus it is a little bit more difficult,” continued the 27-year-old.
“The small pitch makes them arrive quicker to different positions, so not big spaces to play inside and outside, we struggled a little bit in the beginning. We couldn’t win but we are happy because we have done a great job.”
Kyle Walker-Peters fired mid-table Southampton into a seventh-minute lead with his maiden Premier League goal, while Armando Broja hadastrikedisallowedforoffside and also headed against a post.