Pep Guardiola aims two digs at Southampton as Man City boss defends Erling Haaland risk

boss took aim at for "playing to defend" and "wasting time" during their disappointing 0-0 draw at St Mary's - but defended playing despite his long injury lay-off. City dropped vital points in their race to qualify for the as they failed to make it past the basement boys, who have lost 28 times this season.

City had 72 per cent possession of the ball and 26 shots, but only five of those were on target as they struggled to carve open a stubborn Saints side.

, meanwhile, had to shots all game and zero on target, completing just 258 passes to City's 640, and Guardiola accused them of playing for time and only focusing on defending.

When asked for his verdict on the game, the Spaniard said: "Difficult. We had chances but unfortunately couldn’t score. [Southampton were] playing to defend and defend and defend and waste time. We point still, it’s in our hands."

He added that despite the disappointing result, the point they picked up was "really important", adding: "[We] Didn’t expect them to defend so deep. Defensive we were so good but unfortunately we missed the last actions."

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The game also saw Haaland play the full 90 minutes after missing the last six weeks due to an ankle injury but Guardiola said he didn't regret putting him on for the entire game, insisting they needed someone in the box to finish their chances.

"He [Erling Haaland] didn’t expect to play any minutes but the way the game was played we needed people in the box," Guardiola went on.

City defender Ruben Dias backed up his manager's claims about Southampton's "frustrating" tactics and accused them of "not wanting to play or win the game".

"It's frustrating to play against a team like them," said the Portuguese international. "They don’t even try to play, just wasting time the whole game.

"I don’t even feel like they want to play the game or win the game. They are just sitting around. We tried every way. We had chances but we didn’t score. It is what it is."

Simon Rusk defended Southampton's decision to sit deep and defend as he said they had no choice but to "absorb pressure" against a big side like City.

"We wanted to be as strong as possible towards the end of season," Rusk said after the game. "We did that with abundance. We can be proud of it. Against top sides you have to absorb lots of pressure. Concentration levels are key. We did that well. We stll found ourselves in one or two dangerous moments we could have capitalised on."

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