Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has picked out Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse as the best corner-kick taker in the Premier League.
City thrashed Southampton 6-1 at the weekend to pile more pressure onto Saints manager Mark Hughes but, despite the scoreline, Guardiola was not completely happy with his side’s defending.
Southampton were 3-0 down inside 18 minutes but were allowed back into the game when Danny Ings scored from the spot. The Manchester City boss felt his side were fortunate to grab another before the break to effectively kill the game.
“We were lucky to score the fourth goal at the last minute of the first half because I had the feeling the game was not over,” Guardiola said, as reported by the Independent.
Raheem Sterling’s strike two minutes into first-half stoppage time gave the home side an unassailable lead at the break but the City boss still felt their play without the ball needs work.
In particular Guardiola was unhappy with the number of corners given away against a team with, in his opinion, the best taker in the top flight.
“We played with the ball so good but not without the ball. We were not stable behind. We concede a lot of corner kicks and with the best taker in the league [James Ward-Prowse] like Southampton had.
“The teams showed me some signals that in some positions we are not stable enough,” he reiterated.
The win put Manchester City two points clear at the top of the table with the side unbeaten in their first 11 Premier League matches.
Until Ings’ penalty they had gone 630 minutes without conceding in the league but Guardiola still felt his side allowed Southampton too many chances.
“When they were close to our box, [we had] the feeling they can score goals,” he said. “When we had that feeling it’s not good.
“We can improve and that is good. I like to have that feeling that we won 6-1 and are top but at the same time we have to improve in many situations to be a more stable team because when we arrive in the next steps of the Champions League, when you concede in those situations you are out because the level is higher.”
City take on Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday before playing the Manchester derby against rivals United on Sunday.
The post Pep Guardiola picks out the Premier League’s best corner-kick taker appeared first on Squawka News.
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