Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw home to Southampton on Sunday but the performance again raised questions over the title credentials of Pep Guardiola's team.
The stalemate was a fifth consecutive game without a victory for City and Guardiola, as Kelechi Iheanacho's eighth goal in his last 11 league games cancelled out Nathan Redmond's first-half opener for Southampton, which owed much to an extraordinary mistake by City defender John Stones. City, after winning their first 10 games under Spanish coach Guardiola, have suffered a major dip in form.
Guardiola had spoken passionately in the wake of the midweek 4-0 defeat at former club Barcelona about his desire to stick to his footballing philosophy. Those beliefs, however, must have been sorely tested in a first half in which his side failed to test Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal and fell behind to the visitors.
The Saints went ahead in the 27th minute following a disastrous back pass from England centre-half Stones, who nonchalantly laid the ball back into the City penalty area despite the presence of Redmond.
The forward retained his composure, beating returning skipper Vincent Kompany to the ball and rounding Claudio Bravo before converting into the open net. "From watching them in preparation we knew they would give us chances, they only play three at the back," Redmond told Sky Sports. "I was anticipating it and it was just about keeping a cool head and putting the chance away."
Following Bravo's costly defensive slip in the midweek Champions League defeat, it was another blow to Guardiola and a handful of home supporters booed the team off at the interval. For all their defensive problems, however, City were equally ineffective at the other end in the first half -- their best effort coming when Stones had a 31st-minute effort ruled out for offside.