On Saturday, Manchester City defeated Southampton 1-0 in the Premier League.

With the victory, City topped the standings and are still undefeated this year.

Few people likely anticipated the final scoreline. Southampton had not yet won that match at the Etihad Stadium and have struggled thus far.

Although that is still the case, the Saints performed admirably and did considerably better than some clubs will this season at the Etihad.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis had an extremely strong defensive performance, which helped Southampton from being completely destroyed by Manchester City.

Due to their promotion, Southampton was able to purchase Hawrood-Bellis for £20 million under an automatic clause after City sold him in the summer.

After the game, Pep Guardiola heaped the praise on the young defender on his return to the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola hails Taylor Harwood-Bellis after Man City’s win over Southampton

Against City, Harwood-Bellis was playing for Southampton for the tenth time this season.

With 771 minutes played so far, he has been a major contributor to Russell Martin’s team.

Given Guardiola’s excellent center-back choices over the past few years, Harwood-Bellis’s chances of making an impression at City were always going to be slim.
However, based on his post-match remarks, it is evident that the Manchester City manager thinks highly of Harwood-Bellis.

“I’m so happy for him because he’s a lovely guy,” he remarked (via mancity.com).

That he’s settling into the Premier League makes me happy. Because the manager demands that they play close together and move in a different style, he poses a serious threat to Southampton from set pieces and when they have the ball.

Much praise for Harwood-Bellis
The fact that Harwood-Bellis made his Premier League comeback to the Etihad on Saturday was just incredible.

He was a young talent who had long excited City, and he did make eight appearances for the team’s first squad.

However, City ultimately decided to include an automatic buyout clause in the event that Southampton was promoted to the top division, which naturally happened.In the end, Harwood-Bellis couldn’t overcome the competition to become another Rico Lewis or Phil Foden.However, Guardiola’s remarks will give him a lot of hope.Perhaps City will come to regret selling Harwood-Bellis. He is a superb ball player, which is a must for any center-back playing for City these days, and he undoubtedly appears quite at ease in the Premier League.