The Saints should have departed Italy with a comfortable win and Guardiola knows his side will be up against it this weekend.
Pep Guardiola has lauded the performance of Manchester City’s weekend opponents Southampton during their unfortunate defeat Inter Milan in the Europa League, as reported by the club’s official Twitter account.
The Saints produced an impressive performance at the San Siro despite going down 1-0 to Antonio Candreva’s second-half strike, dominating possession and chances against the 2010 Champions League winners (below).
The defeat represented Southampton’s first loss in all competitions since a narrow 2-1 loss against Arsenal at the Emirates in early September with the in-form Nathan Redmond, Charlie Austin and Virgil Van Dijk helping the South Coast side upset the odds once more.
And Guardiola admits he marvelled at the “amazing” performance of Claude Puel’s side on Italian soil ahead of a potentially enthralling encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The former Catalan boss has endured a testing few weeks to bring a startling end to his seamless transition to English football, with draws with Everton and Celtic, as well as a disappointing defeat to Tottenham, preceding Wednesday’s 4-0 hammering at the hands of Barcelona (below).
Though the one-sided scoreline was undoubtedly embellished by a red card to Claudio Bravo early in the second half and a series of errors which gifted Barca all four goals, the Catalan will be more than aware that the Saints are hardly the ideal opponents to face during a barren run.
Ronald Koeman’s Southampton thumped City 4-2 at St. Mary’s in the latter stages of last season, their intensity and movement far too much for Manuel Pellegrini’s sluggish visitors.
And Guardiola will need to gear his side up if they are to avoid going five games without a win.
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