Haaland punishes Southampton to keep Manchester City on Arsenal’s trail

There is little chance of Manchester City going away. This was a second successive 4-1 win owed to clinical finishing and impeccable timing, the returning Erling Haaland breaching a spirited Southampton at the end of a relatively flat first half. Haaland would score again, brilliantly, after Jack Grealish doubled the lead; Sékou Mara offered brief hope of a Saints revival but Julián Álvarez quickly converted a penalty and sent all eyes towards Arsenal’s Easter Sunday visit to Liverpool. Should the league leaders fail to win, City’s destiny will be in their own hands.

Outwardly, one of the biggest among Southampton’s many difficulties was that this could not be written off as a free hit. Those do not exist over Easter, and certainly not when you start the evening four points shy of safety. Rubén Sellés had expressed confidence in his players’ capacity to overhaul that deficit and could perhaps reflect St Mary’s had not been a happy hunting ground for City over the past year. Saints merited a 1-1 draw in January 2022 and prevailed, albeit against a heavily rotated opponent, in the fifth round of the Carabao Cup three months ago.

They began as if channelling that spirit, a flurry of pressure culminating in a delivery from Carlos Alcaraz that none of his teammates had the wherewithal to attack. Ederson then evinced some discomfort in possession and there was enough for a subdued home support to cling on to.

Nonetheless, City soon went to work. Their first attack was a sweeping one and resulted in Ilkay Gündogan finding Grealish free on the left of the box. Gavin Bazunu, signed from City last summer, parried Grealish’s first-time curler and the ricochet bounced too high for an onrushing Kevin De Bruyne.

The pattern of City possession was set but they should have been punished for an extraordinary moment of laxity in the 16th minute. A right-sided corner seemed likely to maintain the pressure but Riyad Mahrez sold De Bruyne short with his pass. In stole Kamaldeen Sulemana and, with nobody in the 90 yards between him and Ederson, the sprint was on. Sulemana is lightning-quick but, pursued by Nathan Aké and on his weaker left foot, looked reluctant to pull the trigger as he reached City’s 18-yard line. Eventually he ran out of road; Ederson spread himself to scoop clear and a fine chance evaporated

City began to meander and Southampton, hunting in packs, did not appear cowed. When Haaland received space to run, a combination of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Roméo Lavia retrieved the ball; the livewire Sulemana nutmegged Manuel Akanji and reached the right byline but drove a cross beyond everyone.

Jack Grealish celebrates after doubling Manchester City’s lead at Southampton. Photograph: Andrew Fosker/Shutterstock

As the interval neared, Guardiola appeared to have a problem on his hands. The chances appeared to have dried up, a wayward Haaland header aside, but then City did what serial champions do. Sulemana had just threatened at the other end when Grealish won possession, fed De Bruyne to his left and watched as a delicious cross, chipped over from a standing position, was powered in by the rampaging Norwegian.

City could hardly have scored at a better time. They had raised their level when required and had a platform to shape the remainder to their will. Gündogan curled off target six minutes after the restart and the outcome would be settled soon after. Guardiola had just introduced Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker when the pair set a decisive move in train, the latter’s hook up the byline nodded by the former into Haaland’s path. The ball was quickly spirited to De Bruyne, who found Grealish in that inside-left space he so adores; while Bazunu was equal to the first effort, drilled from an angle, Grealish was sharp to jab the loose ball straight past him.

The remaining question was to what extent City would rest up before Tuesday’s assignment with Bayern Munich. Extending their goal difference over Arsenal would be a useful exercise if they had the appetite to do it. Grealish and Haaland quickly provided a sublime answer: when Grealish scampered away once again, standing up a delicate ball above Armand Bella-Kotchap, his colleague contorted those rangy limbs into scissor form and slammed a stunning volley past Bazunu. It was some way to sign off: Haaland was immediately replaced by Álvarez.

Improbably the Saints substitute Mara responded soon after, finishing coolly after a thrilling run by his fellow replacement Moussa Djenepo. But the three-goal margin was almost instantly restored, Jan Bednarek clipping De Bruyne and Álvarez dispatching the spot kick. Arsenal must now handle the Anfield heat.