Manchester City 0-0 Southampton: Player ratings for Cityzens as Champions held to a draw | Premier League 2021/22

Manchester City were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw in their Premier League fixture against Ralph Hasenhuttl's side at the Etihad on Saturday. The Premier League champions were uncharacteristically sloppy right from the start. They registered only one shot at Southampton's goal throughout the game (but had 16 shots in total).

Pep Guardiola's side visibly struggled to keep hold of the ball against Southampton's mid-block in the initial stages. Although the Champions started seeing more of the ball after their initial struggles, they still failed to create goalscoring opportunities against a well-organised Southampton defense. As a result, both teams went goalless into the half-time break.

The game's major flashpoint came nearly fifteen minutes into the second half. Kyle Walker looked to have given away a penalty after losing the ball to Southampton's Adam Armstrong. However, after a pitch-side VAR review, referee Jon Moss overturned his decision.

Pep Guardiola then made a flurry of changes, notably substituting in Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez in hopes of tilting the game in City's favor. In the aftermath, Manchester City did look to have stolen the victory in the 91st minute through Raheem Sterling. However, the forward was deemed offside after a long VAR review and the game ended goalless.

On that note, let's have a look at the City player's rating from the game.

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Manchester City player ratings

Ederson Moraes - 6/10

Ederson had very little to do for most of the game as attacks on both ends were far and less in-between. However, he did well to aid in the build-up, stepping up almost as a third centre-back at times.

Kyle Walker - 5/10

Walker struggled to provide the much-needed spark down the right flank. He offered close to nothing for much of the game in attack and defense. In fact, he even looked to have given away a penalty with some sloppy play but thankfully VAR intervened to save his blushes.

Ruben Dias - 7/10

One of the very few bright spots in a rather frustrating and underwhelming game for the Champions was Dias. He was tested by Southampton's attack on various occasions. However, he showed brilliant positional awareness and reading of the game to keep his fourth cleansheet of the season.

Nathan Ake - 7/10

Nathan Ake for Manchester City against Southampton

Injuries to John Stones and Aymeric Laporte meant that Ake found himself starting consecutive league and CL games for the first time in his City career. He looked calm and composed on the ball and defended brilliantly throughout the 90 minutes. Ake completed 56 passes with an accuracy of 87% and won seven defensive duels in total.

Joao Cancelo - 6/10

Cancelo covered a lot of ground up and down the left flank. The Portuguese was composed in defense but looked a little too eager to force the opening goal and often gave the ball away trying to wiggle through the Southampton defense. Cancelo won seven duels throughout the game and managed a 82% pass accuracy as well.

Bernardo Silva - 6/10

Silva looked uncharacteristically out of ideas and failed to control the midfield proceedings. The 27-year-old struggled to manipulate the spaces as he usually does. He completed just 81% of his passes with nearly half of them coming in his own half.

Fernandinho - 4/10

Fernandinho visibly struggled and gave the ball away cheaply on numerous occasions. Perhaps age has finally caught up with City's ever-reliant Brazilian engine. The City skipper was clearly the focal point of Southampton's mid-block and he was often bullied off the ball in this match.

IIkay Gundogan - 6/10

Gundogan was again seen making his trademark runs from midfield into the Southampton box whenever he got the opportunity to do so. The German midfielder should have put City ahead in the first half but he skied his header. Gundogan completed a remarkable 95% of his passes but much like his teammates, failed to create any sort of chance at all.

Raheem Sterling - 5/10

Raheem Sterling for Manchester City against Southampton

Sterling struggled to get involved in the game as he registered zero shots on target throughout the game. The Englishman was at fault for being selfish as he toe-poked a 91st winner off Foden's feet only to be then deemed offside by VAR.

Sterling has struggled a fair bit for about a year now and his time at the Etihad might be coming to an end if his performances don't improve.

Gabriel Jesus - 6/10

Jesus started the game in his newfound right wing position but failed to mark his influence on the game. The Brazilian was later given a run in the middle as Sterling shifted towards the right but to no effect. He was taken off for Riyad Mahrez in the 67th minute.

Jack Grealish - 7/10

Having established himself as Guardiola's preferred choice on the left wing, Grealish came close to forcing an opening in the 26th minute. He released Sterling into space after attracting two Southampton defenders. However, the latter's shot was well off-target. Grealish completed 84% of his passes and managed to string three key passes as well.

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Substitutes

Kevin de Bruyne - 7/10

De Bruyne added a fair bit of spark to City's attack as soon as he came on. The midfielder even provided Foden with the pass for City's only shot on goal. It in fact could have been the winner if Foden had poked it in on the rebound instead of Sterling.

Riyad Mahrez - 6/10

Much like most of his teammates, Mahrez also struggled to create goalscoring opportunities against Southampton's well-drilled defensive setup.

Phil Foden - 7/10

It's astonishing how Foden is already one of the best players in this star-studded City side. The youngster once again looked sparkingly good in a rather unfamiliar midfield role after coming on in the 72nd minute.