Guardiola smiles again as Kompany leads City romp
As days at the office go, few can have been more satisfying for Pep Guardiola than this. No wonder he wore a full beam grin at the end.
“I’m so, so happy,” the Manchester City manager exuded. “I’m so happy for the players, it was so important for them ahead of the [FA Cup] semi-final.”
A week before his side face Arsenal at Wembley, everything went right for him and City. Three points were secured in pursuit of a Champions League place, three goals were scored, a clean sheet was preserved.
Here is how pleasing this trip to the south coast was for the Spaniard: his goalkeeper actually pulled off a save. Yes, for the first time since Jan 2, Claudio Bravo successfully managed to get in the way of a goal-bound effort, throwing himself at a header from Maya Yashida and falling to the turf, the ball grasped to his chest. “Bravo, Bravo” sang the visiting supporters, jovially aware of the significance of the moment.
Brisk, efficient, clever as they were, what will have pleased the City manager all the more was the industry with which his team went about their task. Effort was everywhere on display. Not least from Sergio Agüero. Statistically this is the brilliant Argentine’s worst ever Premier League season. Statistics, though, are relative things: he had scored ten goals in ten games in all competitions before this. And boy was he busy here, determined to help City improve on their record of only one win from their last five visits to St Mary’s. He had volleyed the ball wide from Gaël Clichy’s swerving cross, hit a shot past the post after Kevin De Bruyne found him in space, then misdirected a sledgehammer drive from the edge of the area all within the first eight minutes.
But City’s early failure to capitalise on superior possession seemed to inspire their hosts. Brilliant work by Nathan Redmond and Manolo Gabbiadini created an opening for Dusan Tadic, alone and unmarked on the edge of the City box. His shot, however, was ballooned well over the bar. Which must have frustrated his manager Claude Puel, watching from his technical area.
Just put it somewhere near the City goal would have been the lament. After all, that is all you generally need to do when Bravo is playing: the City goalkeeper had arrived on the south coast with the unenviable record of conceding goals from the last seven shots on target he had faced.
But there were few of such things here: Southampton rarely came close to testing him. And the reason for that was largely the identity of the man playing in front of Bravo. Vincent Kompany, after a wretched, injury-plagued four months, was back. His first intervention – cool, calm and perfectly executed – spoke volumes for what his absence has meant.
“We miss him a lot,” admitted Guardiola.
“He’s a real defender. No doubt about that. We are so happy he is coming back and hopefully we can keep care of him for the rest of the season.”
It was not just the skipper’s tackles and organisational nous that stood out. It was from his boot that many a City attack began.
One burst started by him concluded with Leroy Sané darting into the area. As the quicksilver forward approached the Southampton goal, from the stands it appeared Fraser Forster had clipped his ankle rather than the ball as he dived at his feet. The referee was not interested, however, preferring to award City a corner.
“I thought it was a penalty,” said Guardiola. “But Sané tells me it was not a penalty. He is a German, so I believe him.”
Not that it mattered. City, in total control of possession, continued to surge forward. And after 55 minutes the effervescent Agüero was fouled on the edge of the area. When De Bruyne’s smart free kick was cleared, the ball fell to Jesús Navas, midway inside the Southampton half. His excellent shot, seemingly destined for the back of the net, was saved at full length by Forster. From the resulting corner, who else but Kompany came barrelling in to rise above Ryan Betrand and power a header past the keeper. It was his first goal since August 2015. No wonder he celebrated with such vigour in front of the ecstatic City fans.
To the home supporters’ disappointment, Puel responded by substituting the local hero Gabbiadini. In truth, the Italian who has made such an impression since his arrival in January, did not look fully up to speed after his injury lay-off. Shane Long replaced him, and was soon involved in a fifty-fifty tussle with Kompany. As the entire visiting section held its breath, it was the Belgian who emerged unscathed from the fray, while a hobbling Long was substituted himself.
Here was concrete proof that everything was going City’s way. And as Southampton pushed for an equaliser, they left themselves exposed to the visitors’ rocket-fuelled pace on the break. They were duly punished when De Bruyne accelerated forward and played in Sané, whose sharp finish left Forster marooned. Agüero then got his just reward for his industry – not to mention his eleventh goal in eleven matches – when he met De Bruyne’s adroitly chipped cross for the third.
Now come Arsenal. And after that, the Manchester derby. City’s form – and their skipper – have returned at precisely the right time. Southampton (4-2-3-1) Forster 6; Cedric 5, Yoshida 6, Stephens 5, Bertrand 5; Davis 7, Hojbjerg 5; Redmond 6, Tadic 6, Ward-Prowse 6 (Long 59; Rodriguez 81); Gabbiadini 5 (Boufal 59). Subs Hassan (g), Clasie, Caceres, Martina. Booked Hojbjerg, Soares, Davis Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Bravo 6; Navas 6, Kompany 7, Otamendi 6, Clichy 6; Toure 6, Fernandinho 6; Sane 7 (Sterling 85), Silva 7 (Zabaleta 80), De Bruyne 8; Aguero 7 (Iheanacho 89). Subs Caballero (g), Fernando, Kolarov, Garcia. Referee N Swarbrick (Lancs).