Southampton have hit back after Ruben Dias gave a ‘salty’ interview where he slammed the way they played in the 0-0 draw with Manchester City.
On Saturday afternoon Pep Guardiola‘s side travelled to St Mary’s with the aim of securing a sixth consecutive win and one that would move them level on points with Arsenal in second.
But City were frustrated on the south-coast as Southampton, led by interim boss Simon Rusk, kept only their third clean sheet of the season and claimed a point which ensures they are no longer statistically the joint worst team in Premier League history alongside Derby County in the 2007/08 season.
FA Cup finalists City, who welcomed Erling Haaland back into the starting XI, had 70 per cent possession and 26 total shots to Southampton’s two but struggled to break down their opponents.
And after the game, City defender Dias blasted Southampton for sitting behind the ball and defending for the duration of the game.
“In a moment like this, every point matters and it’s obviously frustrating to play against a team like this,” he said in an interview with Sky Sports which drew plenty of criticism from fans.
“They don’t even try anything, they just sit and don’t even want to win the game, they just want to be there. And it’s not good for the show, it’s not good for themselves, it’s not good for anyone. But it is what it is.”
Dias also laid into Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for slowing down the game and said there was “not even a sparkle” of Southampton “trying to do anything” as he accused them of “just sitting around”.
Southampton brutally troll Ruben Dias and Man City online
In response, Southampton trolled the Portuguese defender by clipping up his post-match interview and posting a fail compilation of City’s lack of cutting edge on Saturday – alongside a meme recorder remix of Earth, Wind and Fire’s ‘September’
The video, captioned, “Guess never of us wanted to play”, has racked up a whopping 1.3 million views.
Despite the claims from Dias, Guardiola completely disregarded the comments from his vice-captain and said his side could have no qualms about Southampton’s tactics.
“No, no, no. Absolutely not … they can do whatever they want,” the Catalan explained.
“Many times teams have played five in the back or six and the striker has gone on our holding midfielder and there’s no space … it’s difficult. You have to break it and we had the chances. We did not concede one shot on target and they didn’t do much but we have to accept the way they play. It belongs to Simon [Rusk] and his assistant coaches. I don’t agree with Ruben. We have to accept it.”
Pep Guardiola’s men dropped two points against bottom club Southampton. Image: Getty
City are third on 65 points with two games remaining but the race to secure a top-five finish and Champions League football is as close as ever. Aston Villa are just two points behind on 63 points after a 1-0 win over Bournemouth – level with Newcastle and Chelsea ahead of their meeting at St James’ Park.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are on 61 points and still in contention as they gear up for a clash with Leicester City on Saturday.
