“Always when you play badly or commit errors, you hope to play another game to put it behind you, to show that you are capable and that you deserve to be playing for an important team like City”, he told reporters.
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“We had one or two chances to make it 2-2 and that would have been it, but they are a hell of a side”.
This match will be dictated by how well Manchester City play since their squad is much better than that of Southampton and if they play well they should win this encounter with relative ease. With Liverpool, West Ham and Everton all going well at the moment, and Chelsea finally beginning to gain ground, Southampton face a big battle to qualify for the Europa League once more.
Even more galling for Newcastle fans is the fact that their team has taken the place of northeast rival Sunderland in the relegation zone.
The early pressure soon subsided as Southampton started to get back into the game before the half time whistle, punctuated by van Dijk’s thunderous effort from distance clipping the bar, cruelly costing the Dutchman a wonderful goal. “I still remember what John Terry said after the game that “we found it so tough to play against Shane Long'”.
The City boss insisted before kick-off it was business as usual at the Etihad despite the latest round of Pep Guardiola rumours. “Southampton are having a good season”.
“The players gave a very strong reaction”.
It’s been a typical madcap week at the wannabe Premier League champions, a trouncing at home by Liverpool, defeat at Juventus and talk of Barcelona superstar Messi hooking up here on wages of £800,000 a week.
Vardy’s record-breaking goal was typical for a player who has become one of the hottest properties in English football.
Sergio Aguero winces in pain against Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Pellegrini confirmed the experienced Argentine has “the same injury in the ligament in his knee”, so needs treatment to recover effectively.
Raheem Sterling has scored in three of his five Barclays Premier League games against Southampton.
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“We will see, not because he had a kick in his heel but because he played already three games in a row”, he added. Southampton, who are eighth in the Premier League and saw a six-game unbeaten run end at Stoke last weekend, travel to face third-placed Manchester City on Saturday. Had they won that match, Ronald Koeman’s men would have come into this one just three points behind City.
