Manchester City star Ruben Dias slammed Southampton’s negative performance in the 0-0 draw on Saturday at St Mary’s Stadium.
The relegated hosts frustrated Man City with their defensive performance to earn a rare draw.
Dias accused Southampton of not trying to play football as the draw moved them to 12 points.
He said: “It’s frustrating. Every point matters right now until the end, and it’s frustrating to play a team like them. They don’t even try to play. They just wasted time the whole game.
“I don’t even feel like they want to play the game or win the game. They’re just sitting around. But it is what it is. We tried every way. We had chances, but we didn’t score. It is what it is. We didn’t score so we took the draw and we moved forward.”
Similarly, Man City coach, Pep Guardiola, accused Southampton of being defensive and wasting time.
He said: “We had chances but unfortunately couldn’t score. [Southampton were] playing to defend and defend and defend and waste time. We take that point still, it’s in our hands.
“Didn’t expect them to defend so deep. Defensive we were so good but unfortunately we missed the last actions.
“He [Erling Haaland] didn’t expect to play as many minutes but the way the game was played we needed people in the box. That point was really important.”
Man City dominated with 26 shots compared to Southampton’s two.
The result is a dent to Man City’s Champions League hopes as they sit in third in the table on 65 points with two games.
