How Southampton stunned City: Ward-Prowse at No 10, aggression, Djenepo’s discipline

This was not supposed to happen.

As Sport Republic’s co-founder Henrik Kraft took his seat a few minutes before kick-off, he would have noticed the many clusters of empty red seats. St Mary’s was only 70 per cent full and the muted atmosphere was indicative of the mood amongst the fans.

Half an hour before that, a silence had met the teamsheets being read out, which allowed the shout of Manchester City’s young mascot confidently predicting a 12-0 victory to be heard.

This was supposed to be the defining half a week, where Southampton would host arguably the best team in Europe in a cup quarter-final before travelling to Goodison Park that sees both sides, plus their managers and respective ownerships, under enormous pressure.

For Nathan Jones, the weight on his shoulders seemed heavy. He asked fans to “get behind the team” before kick-off, which suggested a clear admission of the early discord between him and supporters. Set to grace the touchline alongside Pep Guardiola, suspicions that his perceived coaching inadequacies would be accentuated.

In his first few weeks at the club, players noted Jones’ man-management skills and recognised he was trying to implement an improved culture. But once the World Cup hiatus was over and Southampton tentatively stepped towards the fire and got quickly burnt, he was yet to convince the broader public of his acumen.

“I want to build a free-flowing attacking side,” Jones told The Athletic. “That isn’t going to happen overnight. I don’t know what people expect in four weeks. I ain’t David Blaine, I don’t produce the magic of Paul Daniels.”

Jones was brought in to build on his predecessor’s strengths, Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Welshman even said it himself.

So it should not have been a surprise when Jones heeded a handful of Hasenhuttl-isms from when Southampton beat Chelsea in August.

With assistant Chris Cohen and first-team coach Carl Martin watching from a high vantage point in the Itchen, providing feedback on where the space is, changes in tactical systems and potential avenues to exploit, Jones set his team up in a 4-2-3-1.

A key cog to this was James Ward-Prowse in the No 10 position, just as Hasenhuttl used him against Chelsea. Jones tasked his captain with blocking passing lanes and putting pressure on Kalvin Phillips, where he could “jump out of shape” to be the first pressing trigger.

Ward-Prowse’s energy higher up the pitch restricted Phillips and Illkay Gundogan to just 54 passes between them at the break. City’s two centre-backs, in comparison, had made more than double (128), highlighting how successful Ward-Prowse had been in performing his duties.

As far as similarities go with the Chelsea victory, there were several more. A night match on a cut-up pitch. Do not forget the outspoken mascots, either.

Tactically, Adam Armstrong remained on the left while Ibrahima Diallo and Romeo Lavia were again deployed in a double pivot. Sekou Mara started up top and set the tone for the timed press, with Aymeric Laporte error-strewn early on.

Moussa Djenepo was highly disciplined, dovetailing between backing-up Ward-Prowse in the press and sitting in a quasi-wing-back role in front of Lyanco. With legs and other limbs typically sprawling, Djenepo aimed to cut out passes into Jack Grealish and Gundogan.

Southampton’s first goal was the product of players being positive in their actions. Lyanco nicked in ahead of Grealish and crossed to Mara, who had expertly teased Kyle Walker with a front post run before finishing past Ortega.

At the other end, Gavin Bazunu occupied high starting positions, on hand to deal with any passes over a backline that was resolute in maintaining a mid-defensive block. That act of bravery was shown its purpose later on, when Bazunu raced off his line to stop Erling Haaland going through on goal.

“If you let City get close to your box regularly, they’ll hurt you,” said Jones. “We knew our best chance of stopping that is to be aggressive against them.”

By the half-hour mark, Southampton were 2-0 up and snapping. Djenepo has a penchant for wandering, so Jones continued to talk him through the first half. Ultimately, though, it was the Malian’s sense of carte blanche that produced his goal and Southampton’s second, drifting towards the left and chipping Stefan Ortega. Ortega had become the second keeper on City’s books to be dinked at St Mary’s and from the Northam End after Ederson in 2020.

By this stage, Southampton had made eight interceptions to City’s two, with three coming from Lyanco alone. This was a throwback display, bloodying a big boy’s nose and cranking up the noise inside the stadium.

Southampton strode off the pitch at the break with Djenepo — often the team’s emotional bellwether — taking stock. He, Lyanco and Lavia gathered, briefly, in a huddle and smiled, surely passing comment on the winger’s audacious strike. “So far, so good,” the stadium announcer summarised. Southampton were playing with expression rather than inhibition.

As you would expect, City’s cavalry soon arrived. First, it was Kevin de Bruyne then Haaland 10 minutes later, prompting Jones to match Guardiola’s back three shape. “We had solutions. We changed and we were flexible,” he said after.

Guardiola, supporters, Jones and maybe even the players waited for City’s waves of pressure to come. They never did. Southampton looked more likely to grab a third, with Che Adams having a goal ruled out for offside.

The game was littered with passages of play that continued to turn the dial in Southampton’s favour. In stoppage time, the supporters,who had braved the rain and came more in mad hope than expectation, were dishing out “olés” as their team passed and pushed the defending Premier League champions back.

The final kick was Adams picking the pockets of Phil Foden. A split-second reflection of a 90-minute match if there ever was one.

City did not have a shot on target. “The best team won,” said Guardiola. “They were better.”

This was not supposed to happen.

Southampton and Jones need to ensure such magic in a bottle can now be transferred onto the Premier League stage.

(Photo: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images)