Guardiola acknowledges big opportunity missed in draw at Saints

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said dropping points against bottom side Southampton in a 0-0 Premier League draw on Saturday will result in a nervy final two games of the season in his side's pursuit of a Champions League place for next season.

Southampton's hard-earned point not only means they avoid being the joint-worst team in Premier League history but also a tougher finish for City, who must hold off the chasing pack of Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

“The result, of course, it's a missed opportunity today, we know that,” said Guardiola, who failed to beat a bottom team for the first time in his nine seasons at City.

“It happened. Now, we prepare for the [FA Cup] final, less time [for] Bournemouth and then Fulham,” he said. City play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 17 at Wembley.

“We have three games left — the FA Cup and two games in the Premier League and I didn't expect anything different from one month ago in that we will need to fight until the end.”

City had won four straight league matches and were poised to move level on points with second-placed Arsenal but the momentum stalled at St Mary's. They are only two points above the three teams below them in the battle for a top-five finish.

While Southampton have conceded a Premier League-high 82 goals this season, they kept City out by defending in numbers, which drew criticism from Guardiola and defender Ruben Dias.

“It was difficult,” Guardiola said. “Eleven players on the penalty spot. I didn't expect they would defend so, so deep.

“Defensively we were brilliant. But we missed the last actions that break the result.”

Dias echoed his manager's view.

“It's frustrating to play a team like that,” he said. “They didn't want to play. Just wasting time the whole game.”

One positive was the return of Erling Haaland, who missed six weeks with injury. The Norwegian, who remains third in the league's scoring chart with 21 goals, played until the end.

Southampton gave their long-suffering fans something to cheer about with the surprise draw that saw the rock bottom team avoid levelling Derby County as the worst Premier League side in history.

Guardiola's City remained third in the table on 65 points with two games remaining in their bid for Champions League qualification. Newcastle United and Chelsea, who meet on Sunday, are only two points behind. Nottingham Forest, who also have a game in hand, trail by four.

Also on Saturday, Aston Villa breathed life into their Champions League hopes with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth that lifted them to sixth, and just two points behind Man City, as the contest for a top-five finish remains wide open.

Brentford's pursuit of a first-ever European qualification gained strength with their 1-0 victory over already-relegated Ipswich Town, while Brighton & Hove Albion claimed a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to keep them within touching distance of playing in Europe next season.

Fulham's hopes of European football next season are fading fast, however, after they slipped to a fourth league defeat in five games with a 3-1 loss to Everton.

Reuters