Manchester City returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory away at Southampton in the Premier League. The win comes as a much needed boost for the champions as they had lost their last three Premier League games before travelling to Southampton. However, with the returns of Fernandinho and David Silva, the Blues looked much more on their usual game. In our analysis today we will look at the importance of David Silva and Fernandinho in particular and how their returns aided Manchester City in securing victory over Southampton.
Manchester City as usual lined up in their 4-3-3 formation. Zinchenko came in for the suspended Fabian Delph, Vincent Kompany came in for John Stones with Aymeric Laporte and Danilo the only defenders to retain their places. Fernandinho came back from injury to replace the newly injured Ilkay Gündogan. David Silva returned to the starting line-up to fill in for Kevin De Bruyne and finally Riyad Mahrez replaced Leroy Sané on the flank.
Fernandinho
It has taken a slump in form while Fernandinho has been out injured for many people to finally realise his importance to Manchester City. Many people were saying that Guardiola has been found out by Crystal Palace and Leicester. While that may be true, the fact that Manchester Citys midfield enforcer was absent may also be a large contributing factor to Citys dip in form.
However, the Brazilian midfielder was back for Manchester Citys Premier League clash with Southampton and it was certainly noticeable. Not only does Fernandinho have the ability to position himself expertly to prevent quick counter attacks from the opposition but his forward passing is also a hugely important aspect of Manchester Citys play.
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