Manchester City must use Southampton victory to kick-start unbeaten run

Manchester City put an end to a difficult week by beating Southampton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The victory moved City back top of the Premier League, at least until the teams around them have completed their weekend fixtures.

The Blues have suffered over the last seven days. The midweek loss against Juventus meant that City’s chances of finishing top of their Champions League group are now in tatters. That defeat felt like a missed opportunity to give themselves a chance at a decent draw in the last 16 of that competition. The team controlled spells of the game but lacked the knowledge to win it; it’s a concern that this is still an area where they come up short in Europe.

At least it wasn’t as bad as what had gone before. Last weekend, Manuel Pellegrini’s men suffered a 4-1 reverse at home against Liverpool. That day, Jürgen Klopp’s men ran riot in a game that was only going one way once Pellegrini announced the starting 11.

It was absolutely crucial that the Chilean’s side returned to winning ways this weekend. That never looked like an easy task; the visiting Saints had suffered just one defeat in eight games prior to this fixture. For context, though, that came in their last outing, when they faced Stoke City on home soil.

After making a start to the season that was so good, City were the shortest-odds to win the title that any team has ever been after just two games, the Etihad men have quietly set about losing form at an almost alarming rate.

They’ve suffered two 4-1 defeats in the first 13 games of the season and lost three of their last eight league games. There have been two defeats at home where, in their title-winning seasons, they have been almost faultless. The most games any team has lost whilst going on to finish as Champions in the Premier League era is seven. Blackburn Rovers set that record in 1994/95. City’s current form extrapolated over the full season would see them surpass that number. If that were to happen, there is no chance they would be top of the pile in May.

In City’s favour is the fact that, in Pellegrini’s first two years with the club, this part of the season has been they have hit their best form. It was this stage in 2013/14 when, after an underwhelming start, the Blues walloped Tottenham 6-0 to kick-start a run that saw them go unbeaten until February. It was the foundation for their title triumph. It was the same weekend last season when they beat Swansea 2-0 to go on their best run again.

The problem is, this City side just has not looked like one capable of putting a real run of form together. It is hard to imagine sitting here in ten games time and writing about how they have not lost in that period. However, a run of form is exactly what is needed.

A win against Southampton was just what the doctor ordered. Pellegrini acknowledged that dropping points in consecutive home games is not something that aspiring Champions can afford to do. He guarded against the possibility by naming his strongest available eleven, barring David Silva who was on the bench having just come back from injury. The re-instatement of Nicolas Otamendi and Fernandinho to domestic competition was welcome after last week’s startling omissions.

It was far from a perfect performance from the home side. They started brightly, taking advantage of some sloppy Southampton play to race into a 2-0 lead, but they lost control of the midfield battle at points in the second-half and, having conceded one goal, it looked for a while like the visitors might force an equaliser. City did kill the game with a beautifully worked third goal, finished powerfully by Aleksander Kolarov.

After a difficult week, the three points were the important thing here. In spells, the performance was also excellent; this is certainly a foundation on which to really start building the season. Fabian Delph continues to look completely at home in the team and it is to be hoped that his injury nightmare is now behind him. The return of David Silva was greeted with elation by the home supporters who welcomed their biggest idol back with a rousing standing ovation. Stand-in goalkeeper Willy Cabellero also looked better than he has done on previous short-term promotions to the first team.

There’s room for improvement here, but if Manuel Pellegrini can once again use the winter period to dispel City’s discontent, the title charge might just have started in this match.