Manchester City took to St. Mary's Stadium in hopes of leaving with the club's second road win of the week and a quick strike by Sergio Aguero just 10 minutes in made for a great start for the Citizens. The early lead wouldn't last long as Southampton quickly regained momentum and held on in the second half for a 1-1 draw.
Pablo Osvaldo has been criticized as of late for his lack of scoring since coming to the Premier League from Serie A's Roma, but the 27-year-old Italian international made easy work of City captain Vincent Kompany just before the break to even the score at one. Osvaldo's lofted strike beat the out-stretched hands of Costel Pantilimon, finishing off a strong half for Mauricio Pochettino's side.
The Citizens came out after the break and pressured goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but Southampton took control of the match after missed opportunities by Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure.
Manuel Pellegrini noted that his club wasn't the better side after the match, but he was also "pleased with a point" after a gutsy performance by Southampton.
"I think we started well but then we started to lose the ball too easily," Pellegrini said after the 1-1 draw. "It’s very difficult to play against that Southampton team when you are always running behind the ball."
The Saints are now eighth in the Premier League table, just ahead of Manchester United after their shocking 1-0 defeat to Newcastle at Old Trafford. Manchester City failed to leave St. Mary's Stadium with the three points, but Pellegrini added that playing Southampton was no easy task.
"It’s a hard place to come. It’s a very good team, in a good position in the table," he added. "They lost their last few games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa but before that they played really well."
The City manager was pleased with the result, but he'll now look forward as they face Bayern Munich on Tuesday in their final Champions League group stage clash. The Citizens will need to win by three goals or more to finish top of the group, but next weekend's match with Arsenal at the Etihad is just around the corner.
Manchester City are now just five points back of the Gunners in the Premier League, which could force Pellegrini into making changes going into their match with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
The German champions are coming off a masterful 7-0 beating over Werder Bremen on Saturday and they have no plans of giving up the top spot to Manchester City going into the final stages of the Champions League.
There's no telling who City will feature in the starting XI on Tuesday, but nevertheless, Pellegrini is much more content about his club's away form after a troubling run to begin the season.
"We always want to win all of the games. I’m not disappointed with the point. I repeat: it was a logical result. In other games away, I was maybe disappointed because we didn’t deserve to lose but not today."
With Arsenal ahead, the Chilean manager added that it's a "very important game," but the focus remained on Saturday's performance.
Mauricio Pochettino couldn't complain with his team's hard fought draw, which he expressed after the match.
"I’m proud of my team, despite the bad run we’ve been on; I think a draw was a fair result. We could have even got a win today,” Pochettino said. “I think we always show good character. We were up against a very tough Manchester City team and we played very well."
