Che Adams wondergoal earns Saints victory over wasteful Man City
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Updated 06/07/2020 at 11:12 GMT
St Mary's, Premier League - Southampton 1 (Adams 16') Manchester City 0
Che Adams wondergoal earns Saints victory over wasteful Man City
Image credit: Eurosport
Che Adams scored his long-awaited first Premier League goal to earn Southampton a 1-0 victory over a Manchester City side who had 26 shots at St Mary’s but could not score.
After waiting almost a full season to get off the mark as a top flight player, Adams opened his Southampton account in style from 40 yards, looping the ball over a stranded City goalkeeper Ederson to give his side the lead in the 16th minute.
City laid siege on the Saints goal from then on in, but were denied time and again by Saints’ stopper Alex McCarthy, the woodwork when McCarthy was beaten, and some heroic Saints defending.
Somehow, the hosts held on to condemn Pep Guardiola to three successive away defeats in a row for the first time in his career to climb into 13th, with City’s advantage over Leicester in third now eight points.
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Che Adams celebrates his stunner
Image credit: Getty Images
Saints took the game to City from the off, pressing them high up the pitch and not giving them a second on the ball, and soon enough, Stuart Armstrong had nicked the ball off Oleksandr Zinchenko, Adams pounced and, with Ederson well off his line, he curled home from fully 40 yards.
City had plenty of first-half chances to equalise, but found McCarthy in inspired form, and when McCarthy was beaten, the post came to his rescue to deny Fernandinho.
After the break, McCarthy twice thwarted City, making fine stops to deny Jesus and David Silva. It looked like it was going to be one of those days for Guardiola and his recently dethroned champions. Bodies were put on the line late on a City continued to launch wave after wave of attack, but Saints saw out just their fifth home league win all season.
TALKING POINT
Is a post Sergio Aguero Man City not quite as threatening? City did everything but score on the south coast, with Gabriel Jesus guilty of missing several chances. His long wait for a goal – since the end of February – goes on. He has shown glimpses of what he can do since arriving two years ago, but is not yet ready to fill the void when Aguero does return to Argentina. Do City gamble and keep the faith in Jesus, or is a ready-made Aguero replacement in the pipeline?
MAN OF THE MATCH - Jack Stephens
There were plenty of candidates in red and white, but captain Stephens lead by example, and threw himself at anything and everything at St Mary’s. He made double the blocks of anyone else on the pitch.
PLAYER RATINGS
Southampton: McCarthy 9, Walker-Peters 8, Bertrand 7, Bednarek 9, Stephens 9, Romeu 7, Ward-Prowse 8, Armstrong 7, Redmond 6, Adams 8, Ings 8. Subs: Long 6.
Manchester City: Ederson 6, Cancelo 6, Zinchenko 5, Laporte 6, Garcia 6, Fernandinho 6, Silva 6, Bernardo 5, Mahrez 5, Sterling 6, Jesus 6. Subs: De Bruyne 6, Foden 6.
KEY MOMENTS
16’ - GGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!! Southampton 1-0 Man City. What a way to score your first goal for Saints. Take a bow, Che Adams! Wow, wow, wow! You wait all season for a first goal for your new club, and then you get off the mark from 40 yards! Zinchenko gets caught in possession having picked up a pass from Ederson, who is well off his line, the ball breaks for Adams, who curls the ball over Ederson and in from just inside City's half! Incredible stuff.
23’ - CHANCE! Great feet from Joao Cancelo, he gets to the byline, fires a fierce cross-cum-shot across the face of goal, Gabriel Jesus is at the back post, but cannot guide the ball on target.
27’ - CLOSE! Great long ball over the top finds Sterling, who volleys across the face of goal, and guess who is there to clear from under his own crossbar.. Danny Ings!
31’ - HOW ARE CITY NOT LEVEL? Firstly, Alex McCarthy denies Sterling, the ball comes out to Fernandinho, who drills against the foot of the post, before McCarthy again denies City, palming away a David Silva header!
37’ - SAVE! I really cannot understand how City haven't scored here. Mahrez cuts inside, shoots for the bottom corner from a tight angle, but McCarthy sticks out a leg and makes the save.
44’ - CHANCE! Great pass from Walker-Peters over the top of Ings, who fires over the top on the stretch. Good chance for the hosts to make it two.
51’ - SAVE! Yet another save from McCarthy. Fernandinho clips a cross into the middle, Jesus wins the header after Saints only half-clear, but McCarthy reaches out a hand and makes the stop.
53’ - ANOTHER SAVE! Great pass into David Silva from Zinchenko, super turn from David Silva, who looks certain to score, but the Great Wall of Southampton, otherwise known as Alex McCarthy, sticks out a leg to make yet another block.
77’ - SAVE! Ederson keeps City in with a shout! Armstrong arrives right on cue, drills for goal, but Ederson sticks out a leg and makes the save.
KEY STATS
- Only Man City (13) have scored more Premier League goals from outside the box this season than Southampton (11).
- Che Adams netted his first ever Premier League goal in what was his 25th appearance and 22nd shot in the competition.
- Southampton have ended a run of six consecutive Premier League defeats against Man City, with this their first victory against the Citizens in the competition since May 2016 (4-2).
- Southampton have won 11 points against ‘big six’ sides in the Premier League this season (P11 W3 D2 L6), only Wolves (12) have won more (excluding big six sides).
- Man City had 26 shots in this game – their highest tally in a Premier League match without scoring since March 2016 versus Man Utd (26).
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