Not our most exciting display, but we were in total control, until that last lapse of concentration right before the referee blew for halftime, and have conserved a lot of energy for the second half.
I expect Pep to make his customary tweaks, forcefully remind the players they need to be switched on at all times, and Soton’s legs and heads to start to go around the 70th minute, as they start to chase the game a bit more, the combination of which will see us begin to open them up more regularly.
Nunes has been by far the best player for me, with Gvardiol and Dias doing well, and a few others having very solid displays.
No one has played poorly, but I do think Savinho has been a bit disappointing with his decision making, Foden has been very quiet (though, that is partly down to Soton’s tactics in and around the box), Kova has been uncharacteristically loose at times, and Haaland, apart from the goal, has been wasteful.
Those are all aspects that can be fairly easily improved in the second half, though, especially after Pep has a word with the team.
All of the “it’s quiet in the Etihad” comments by the commentators are a bit silly, as what do they expect? We scored first, generally dominated, with Soton having aimless possession here and there, with only one shot (off target) in the first 45 which came literally seconds before the referee blew the whistle. And we don’t have some longstanding rivalry or grudge with Soton. Neither set of fans have much to sing, scream, or jeer about.
At any rate, if the players tighten up their play a bit, I fully expect us to go on to score at least two more goals and win this comfortably.
I just hope that Josko is ok after that coming together with Eddie at the end. Looked to perhaps taken a boot to his knee.
