Southampton 0–0 Manchester City Player Ratings: A Goalless Draw in Premier League as Both Teams Failed to Score

Southampton hosted Manchester City in the St. Mary's Stadium on 10th August to kick off the Premier League action on Saturday, 10th May, 2025.

Read on to see Southampton vs Manchester City player ratings. Even though the match was full of attacks up front, there was not a single goal scored by either side. It was a 0-0 draw.

Counter-attacking was the approach from the home team right from the kick-off whistle, as their composition pretty much said that they would use their flanks to go forward and catch City off guard. However, Man City were not planning to give the ball away as they were moving the ball on the front will raise their passing tally. The travelling team did not have to contest for the midfield battle as they were controlling the tempo of the game from the beginning.

In the 15th minute mark, we saw the Citizens maintaining an 80% possession while the hosts only had 20%. The story remained the same till the 30th minute mark, where City were the dominant team in terms of possession and attacking intent. In the 31st minute, De Bruyne almost gave his team the lead with a stunning free-kick attempt, but the ball went a little too high.

We saw the first booking of the match come in the 42nd minute when Ugochukwu blocked Kovacic illegally outside the box. Another attempt from a set piece was denied by the Southampton defenders. After the 45 minutes, 2 additional minutes were added, but the score stood 0-0.

The second half started with substitutions from each side. Right after coming onto the game, Jeremy Doku kept the Southampton defenders on their toes with his run inside and outside.

We saw a glimpse of Southampton's build-up in the 56th minute, but it was quickly dismissed by the City players. The game was alive after the 66th minute as both teams started to take it to a new level and went up to their attacking front. Slowly, the game started to become frustrating for Man City. Therefore, Pep made a couple of changes.

A quick pass from De Bruyne almost opened up the Southampton defense in the 75th minute, but Haaland and Savinho could not match the timing, and they had yet to score the first goal. In the 83rd minute, Ruben Dias almost made it 0-1, but his header was saved by Ramsdale. Following that attempt, we saw Marmoush coming into the match.

Manchester City missed quite a few chances in the later stages of the game. After 90 minutes, 7 additional minutes were added.

Omar Marmoush almost got the goal in the 91st minute, but his shot hit the bar. After the full-time whistle, the score stood 0-0.

Here are Southampton vs Manchester City player ratings.

Southampton Player Ratings vs Manchester City

GK- Aaron Ramsdale- 5.5/10

Aaron was the busiest goalkeeper between the two in the first half. He made sure to be on his best and deny the chances taken on him by the City players in the first half. He was exceptional in commanding his defense line as well.

CB- Taylor Harwood-Bellis- 5/10

In the totality of the first half, Taylor won 1 out of his 2 aerial duels, but he lost the ball on 7 different occasions. Moreover, he maintained 74% throughout the first half. He was instrumental in his team's solid backline.

CB- Jan Bednarek- 5/10

Bednarek was delighted that his misplay did not lead to an own goal when his clearance hit his teammate's back and just went wide of the goalpost.

CB- Jack Stephens- 5.5/10

Jack maintained a total of 85% passing accuracy throughout the first half. Along with Bednarek and Taylor, he played the crucial role in making sure nothing passed by the 3-man defense of Southampton today.

CM- Flynn Downes- 5.5/10

Flynn had to be strong today to keep Man City's wingers on bay. And he did just that. He denied an early opportunity that came off a De Bruyne free kick that met Gvardiol. However, Downes blocked the tap-in and put it out of play.

CM- Lesley Ugochukwu- 5/10

Ugochukwu was decisive and played a crucial part in maintaining discipline today in Southampton's low block, especially in the first half. He made quite a few decisive challenges to break promising Manchester City build-ups. However, he was booked with a yellow card in 42nd minute. He was subbed off at the beginning of the second half.

RM- Wellington-5/10

Throughout the first half, Wellington maintained 79% passing accuracy, which is astonishing given how Man City dominated the game in terms of possession and were quick with their pressing whenever they did not have the ball.

LM- James Bree- 5.5/10

Throughout the first 45 minutes, James Bree maintained a 77% passing accuracy. He was excelling with his defensive and offensive duties. Moreover, his discipline towards Southampton's low block to deny Man City was commendable.

CAM- Mateus Fernandes- 5/10

Fernandes was arguably one of the few players from his side who maintained an 80% passing accuracy. He won 3 out of his 4 ground duels. While he was on his defensive duties in the first half, it was expected of him to go forward at the later stages of the game.

CAM- Kamaldeen Sulemana- 5.5/10

Sulemana was the player who was given the responsibility to stay up front and expose the gaps left behind by the City players when they hold a high line. From the very beginning, he tried multiple times to expose the defensive formation on the counter.

ST- Tyler Dibling- 5/10

Dibling was the name that was in the spotlight before the beginning of the game as a player who could make the change in the outcome and give the lead to his team. However, for the totality of the first half, he did not get his chance due to how the game was unfolding.

Sub- Joe Aribo- 4.5/10

The substitution of Aribo was a caution over every other reason, as the man who was taken off for him was on a yellow. He came onto the match at the beginning of the 2nd half.

Sub- Cameron Archer- 5/10

Archer came onto the match in the 64th minute as the manager wanted a different kind of attack. He made an impact right away after coming him.

Sub- Ross Stewart- 4/10

Ross was introduced to the game as he took Sulemana's position, who had worked tirelessly, and he was tired up to that point. The intention was fresh legs.

Sub- Ryan Manning- 4/10

Ryan Manning came along with Ross Stewart in the later minutes of the game to make sure that the clean sheet is intact and Southampton does not concede any goals.

Sub- Will Smallbone- 4/10

Will Smallbone came onto the game after the normal 90 minutes. The idea was for him to see the game off and make sure the match remained goalless.

Manager- Simon Rusk- 5/10

Simon Rusk was the happier manager between the two as his team managed to get 1 point from the fixture. He made all the right subs to protect the clean sheet.

Manchester City Player Ratings vs Southampton

GK- Ederson- 5/10

Ederson had barely anything to do in the first half except take some quick passes when the team wanted to restart their build-up. The Brazilian stayed as a spectator from his position throughout the first half.

LB- Josko Gvardiol- 5.5/10

Gvardiol was given the green light to go forward and deal with wide crosses that came from the center of the pitch. Due to Southampton's compact formation on the box, the idea from Pep was to see the ball cushioned towards Haaland's head. The Croatian kept working for it, looking to find the Norwegian in the box.

CB- Manuel Akanji- 5/10

Together with the veteran Dias, Manuel Akanji held a high line in the first half. Even though he hardly had to backpaddle to defend for his team, whenever the team needed him to be on his defensive duties, the center back did not disappoint.

CB- Ruben Dias- 5.5/10

Ruben Dias, along with his defensive partner Akanji, held the fort in the back rather well today. The Portuguese kept a high line throughout the first half and looked dangerous during the set pieces that came City's way.

RB- Rico Lewis- 5/10

Unlike his usual games, Rico Lewis saw a lot of balls on the flanks where he had chances to deliver some lethal service in the box. However, the close block from Southampton kept the right back silent throughout the first half.

CM- Mateo Kovacic- 6/10

There is no denying that Man City's build-up in close counter is something that is a highlight of the Premier League. And during Rodri's absence, the soul of that build-up has been Kovacic, who did a phenomenal job today.

CM- Bernardo Silva- 5/10

Nothing ordinary from Bernardo Silva today, especially in the first half, where he tried to get in the close slot to make 1- 2s, but Southampton's precision did not allow the Portuguese any chance to exploit the short spaces that are left behind.

CAM- Kevin De Bruyne- 6.5/10

Perhaps Kevin was the only player who found Haaland in the congested box of the opposition every time he wanted to give the ball to him. Moreover, he was the center of every attack through the flanks. He is the ultimate glue that holds the team together. He created multiple chances for his team today.

RM- James McAtee- 5/10

Safe to say McAtee was invisible throughout the first half as City tried to break the low block Southampton had created since the kick-off whistle. He barely got any touches in promising positions. However, his off-the-ball runs to widen the defensive lines were important for City. He was subbed off at the beginning of the 2nd half.

LM- Phil Foden- 6/10

Foden played alongside Kevin today, with the duties being the same as the Belgian. The Englishman seemed especially dangerous right outside the box every time he had the ball on his stronger foot, which is why Southampton were quick to rally up the numbers around him.

ST- Erling Haaland- 5/10

Haaland had pretty much nothing to do throughout the totality of the first half. One of the biggest reasons behind that is the low block of Southampton. The Norwegian tried to drop down and help his team with an extra player outside the box from time to time.

Sub- Jeremy Doku- 5/10

Pep wanted more dynamism through the flanks. This is why he introduced Doku at the beginning of the second half and took off James McAtee.

Sub- Savinho- 4/10

Savinho came onto the match in the 73rd minute as Pep wanted to take Foden off. Ever since coming on, he has become a handful for the Southampton defense.

Sub- Nico O'Reilly- 4/10

Nico came onto the match with Savinho in the 73rd minute. However, instead of playing wide, he took over a central role.

Sub- Omar Marmoush- 4/10

Marmoush came onto the game at the 85th minute as Man City were desperate to get a goal at this point. Kovacic was taken off for this introduction. He almost got the goal in the 91st minute, but his shot hit the bar.

Manger- Pep Guardiola- 5/10

Pep looked animated on the touchline multiple times to ask more from his team. He wanted more intent, more tenacity, and more hunger from his team till the last minute of the game.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match is Kevin De Bruyne.