The Saints were punished after just five minutes by the Premier League’s top goalscorer Erling Haaland, who fought through contact from Jan Bednarek inside the box to find the roof of the net from a precise Matheus Nunes cross.
The visitors could have collapsed after the early setback, but they remained defensively organised and compact, whilst also offering a threat on the counter, with Cameron Archer striking the crossbar as they went into the interval only a goal behind.
After the break, Haaland had chances to double his tally, with one header cleared off the line, another header saved by Aaron Ramsdale and one chance poked wide from close-range.
The Saints pushed forward in the final few minutes but Pep Guardiola‘s men weathered the storm to move back to the top of the Premier League.
“They press high, they try to build up with the ball,” said Bernardo after the game. “It makes it very difficult to press them because if you go man-to-man in the middle they find the space, then it’s not easy for our defenders and they have fast guys up front.
“Tough game for us but very happy with the three points. Now, we’re used to that when teams defend deep against us which makes it more difficult, we have to be patient. We are used to that.
“We had our chances to score three or four goals to make it, but they deserve a lot of credit for what they did here today.”
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Russell Martin’s side remain winless and sit at the bottom of the Premier League table, with just one point from nine matches, but Bernardo was full of praise for their performance in Manchester.
“We have a lot of respect for all the teams in the Premier League,” he declared. “These guys we played today, I watched some of the games they played in the season and I think they deserve a lot more points than what they’ve got.
“A lot of respect for the way they play.”
