Southampton, United Kingdom – Manuel Pellegrini insisted he was satisfied with a point after Manchester City once again failed to find the answer to their inconsistent away form in a 1-1 draw at Southampton.
Pellegrini's side have now won just twice in eight away games in the Premier League and their failure to win at St Mary's meant they missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal to three points.
Sergio Aguero put City ahead after just nine minutes but Dani Osvaldo's equaliser before half-time ensured the spoils were shared on Saturday.
And City manager Pellegrini, whose team are five points behind Arsenal ahead of the Gunners' clash with Everton on Sunday, said:
“I think this is a good result for us, a good point, and I don't feel that we lost two points.
“In some of the games we have played away I have had the feeling that we deserved more, but I think that today the draw was the result that both teams deserved.
“Maybe to draw with Southampton the way we played today is normal.
“Maybe on other days we would drop points. When you don't play well and you cannot win, it is important to get a point.”
Pellegrini insisted the outcome may have been different had Argentine striker Aguero made the most of a second opportunity before Osvaldo levelled with an outstanding individual strike.
But he conceded City had contributed to their own downfall by their failure to retain possession after dominating the opening period of the game.
“We started very well, we scored a goal, had a chance to score a second one, and after that we played too quickly,” Pellegrini added.
“Southampton are a good team and if you give them the ball they have dangerous players.
“That was the problem in the first half and in the second half we lost the ball too easily.”
Meanwhile, Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino was pleased with his side's response after three successive defeats.
With a lengthening injury list, Pochettino was forced to field a number of fringe players but he believes the spirit showed by his side bodes well for the rest of the campaign.
“It was a very important point today, to end the bad results we've been on,” Pochettino said.
“We've been up against it quite a bit with injuries. Psychologically, to end with a positive result was amazing for us.
“I think this bad run of results has been down to different factors.
“Maybe we have been unfortunate in some games but this team believes and overall I think this team is on a good run.
“We tried to play well. I think today we beat Manchester City on possession against a team who have the best possession record in the league.
“So overall yes, I'm very happy with the team.”
Osvaldo's goal was the stand-out moment of the game with the Italy forward producing an excellent curled finish after beating two City defenders.
“I think it was a great goal, we all could see that it was an amazing goal,” Pochettino added. – Sapa-AFP