Pep Guardiola
Saints suffered a 1-0 defeat at Man City due to Erling Haaland’s early goal, and were denied an equaliser by the crossbar on the stroke of half-time. Following the match, Pep Guardiola explained how Southampton’s gameplan and philosophy posed challenges for his players in regaining possession.
Pep Guardiola said, “Absolutely. I’m a big believer in the process of build-up. I prefer my players get the ball to the feet, not to the teeth. When this happens, it’s because they make an incredible process. We were not sloppy, we were not slack, and we were struggling to win the ball because they were really, really good. First of all, I’m a spectator, I want to see the opponent doing the things that I like to do with my team, and they’re doing really well, and we struggled. Some movement they have done, the reason why they do it, it’s not difficult. They make a movement, create a space to lead to the striker, and they put the forward players on the outside, to bring you there, and it’s not easy. The last two games against Wolves and Southampton proved that right now at the bottom of the league, look how difficult it was. I think when people say, in the Premier League, every team can beat everyone, yeah, that is the truth. He’s the same guy with the same principles. He’s young and I’m pretty sure he will improve. As a spectator, I like what they do. We ran incredibly today. We don’t like that. But it’s not because we were bad, it was because they were good.”
