Ruben Dias rages at Southampton live on Sky after Man City held – ‘Don’t even try’
Ruben Dias has launched a furious tirade about Southampton’s style of play after his Man City side were held to a goalless draw at St Mary’s.
After what has been an underwhelming campaign for Pep Guardiola‘s side, there are still ways they can still salvage the season including by qualifying for the Champions League.
Going into the game, the outgoing Premier League champions knew that victory would see them move level on points with second placed Arsenal.
Man City though endured a difficult afternoon at St Mary’s as they were held to a 0-0 draw, dealing them a setback in their pursuit of a top five finish.
Ruben Dias fumes over Saints stalemate
It was not for the want of trying that the visitors were unable to find the breakthrough in that match, as they dominated the vast majority of territory and possession.
Southampton by contrast were happy to sit back and allow Man City to apply much of the pressure, much of which they were able to absorb.
Having earned that draw, the Saints have now moved onto 12 points for this season, ensuring they will avoid equalling Derby’s record for the lowest ever Premier League points tally.
| Man City last five games | Result |
| Everton (A) | Won 2-0 |
| Aston Villa | Won 2-1 |
| Nottingham Forest (N) | Won 2-0 |
| Wolves (H) | Won 1-0 |
| Southampton (A) | Drew 0-0 |
Dias though, was far from happy with how their opponents approached the game, implying Southampton – under the interim manager Simon Rusk after sacking Ivan Juric – had no interest in winning.
Speaking after the game on Sky Sports News, the Man City captain said: “Well it’s frustrating, obviously every point matters right now until the end.
“Frustrating to play a team like them, they don’t even try to play, they’re just wasting time the whole game.
“I don’t even know, I don’t even feel like that want to play the game or win the game, they’re just sitting around. But it is what it is.”
Man City must accept Saints approach
Football Insider Verdict
While playing against a team who sit back as much as this will be frustrating, in reality there is an argument that Dias can only really be angry with his own teammates.
Due to Southampton approaching the game in the way that they did, Man City had more than enough time with the ball in the opposition half to make the breakthrough they needed to win the game.
They were though unable to do that and so they should be asking questions as to why a side with their sort of quality was unable to do that.
Indeed, for so much of the season playing a more expansive and attacking style has led to Southampton leaving themselves exposed at the back, contributing considerably to their downfall.
With that in mind it feels hard to blame them for taking a more risk-free approach here, especially given it paid off by earning them a point few expected them to get.
Of course, the fact they could not take advantage of the invitation given to them by the way Southampton played will be a concern for Man City ahead of next week’s FA Cup final with Crystal Palace.