Pep Guardiola warns that ‘one of the best teams in the Premier League’ is preparing for an improvement in form

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and playmaker Bernardo Silva believe Southampton have shown they are fully capable of getting out of trouble if they can keep up the effort even after defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Erling Haaland’s early strike gave City a 1-0 win but they were frustrated in their attempts to find a second goal to close out the game, with Southampton doing a better job than most teams to deny City. holding the ball well and defending well. energetically and well whenever they lost possession.

City continued to enjoy chances to extend their lead, but the way the visitors went about their business left Guardiola and Silva scrambling to offer words of encouragement to a side at the polar opposite end of the table to Manchester City. who took the lead with their win ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday.

Newly promoted Southampton have gone winless and taken just one point from their first nine games of the Premier League season, leading to speculation about manager Russell Martin’s future.

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But Guardiola told the BBC Match of the day: “They play so demandingly. Usually in two or three actions, for three or four seconds you have the ball… they defend with the ball. People think defending means you have ten men behind the ball, but you can defend with the ball and they are really very good, one of the best teams in the Premier League.

“Great credit to them. It’s not because we were sloppy or flat – I didn’t feel that way.”

Bernardo Silva added: “Even when we had chances to finish the game with a second or third goal, we didn’t and made it difficult for us.

“But we have to give credit to Southampton too. It was very difficult for us to put pressure on them. Their models are really good. In my opinion, they deserve much more than what they have had so far in the Premier League, with just one point.”

Southampton host Stoke City in the League Cup on Tuesday night and host Everton at St Mary’s in the Premier League on Saturday. They then face 19th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final game before the international break before facing a tough series of fixtures against Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham. .