Southampton put up a spirited performance at the St. Mary's to ensure spoils were shared as they ended Manchester City's winning streak at 12 games.

The Saints took the lead in sublime fashion through Kyle Walker-Peters, who scored his first ever Premier League goal. The visitors restored parity after the hour mark courtesy of a well headed goal by Aymeric Laporte.

After loosing 3-1 at Wolves in their last outing, Ralph Hassenhuttl made three changes to his team, one of which brought in the goalscorer, Walker-Peters. He also switched formation to a back four as against a back three he played against Wolves.

Pep Guardiola was not interested in many tweaks to his team as he made just one change. Ruben Dias rejoined the starting lineup after making way for John Stones in the victory over Chelsea last gameweek.

The hosts took the lead in surprise fashion in the 7th minute, when Kyle Walker-Peters initiated the attack from a switch of play by Oriol Romeu. Driving forward, he found Nathan Redmond ahead of him and the attacker jolly did well to send the return ball to Walker-Peters who continued his run into the Manchester City box. His half volley with the outside of his foot was unstoppable by Ederson Moraes.

Hassenhuttl's men were in dreamland when they found the back of the net in the 23rd minute. Romeu strode forward before splitting the City defence with a through ball onto the path of Armando Broja. The Chelsea loanee took the ball well in his strides before slotting calmly past Ederson with his left foot at the near post, sending Ederson the wrong way. His celebrations were cut short and rightly so after VAR review showed he was a fraction offside.

City were unbelievably kept out close to half time when Phil Foden made his way to the byline on the left, before cutting the ball back across the face of goal to Raheem Sterling. The former Liverpool man was denied by Fraser Forster and the follow up was quickly cleared out by the goalkeeper even while he was still on the ground.

The second goal almost finally came for the hosts just after the interval when Jan Bednarek's backward header from a James Ward-Prowse corner was kept out by a reaction save from Ederson.

The visitors closest goalscoring opportunity came just few seconds before the hour mark when Walker-Peters lost the ball in his own half, allowing City to exploit the space he left. Rodrigo Hernandez found himself space in front of the box with enough time and shaped to send a curler into the top corner, which came off the top of the bar and away for a goal kick.

Having earlier gone close by hitting the bar, City finally equalized few minutes later. Kevin De Bruyne's inch-perfect free kick was struck with the head by Aymeric Laporte, who lost his marker to find the back of the net.

De Bruyne almost produced the same spectacle as he did against Chelsea as City went in search of a winner. Taking a few touches to set himself up in front of the crowded Saints' box, the Belgian sent a curling shot into the corner, but this time, he was denied by the bar.

With more pressure from Manchester City, Southampton were content with sitting back and trying to hit on the counter, eventually ensuring City were unable to find another goal and their winning run ended.

Concluding Thoughts

While the result may not be a true reflection of what transpired in the game with Manchester City hitting the bar on three to four occasions, it was a determined performance from Southampton, one deserving of at least a point, which they got.

It was the first time in 14 league meetings between both teams the Saints have scored first and the organization of their defence on the night was well m-structured.

Getting two points off the champions in both league fixtures of the same campaign meant a lot as was seen on the face of Ralph Hassenhuttl at the blast of the final whistle after having drawn 0-0 at the Etihad in the reverse fixture.

The game could have been more open had City converted those chances created, especially that of Raheem Sterling which by his standards shouldn't have been missed, given the space and time he had, but credit must also go to Fraser Forster for keeping his cool.

Despite the set back, Manchester City still have a 12-point lead at the top of the table and very much still have their own fate in their own hands. Their inability to win the game was not due to their poor performance, but to Southampton'doggedness. A point well-earned for both sides.

Soccer / southampton vs man city

EPL: Saints Halt Champions Run At 12

EPL: Saints Halt Champions Run At 12

EPL: Saints Halt Champions Run At 12