BBC pundit Garth Crooks deliberately omitted Saints defender Mohammed Salisu from his team of the week in favour of Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, adding: “He can do something brilliant one minute and then something utterly reckless the next.”
Ghanaian defender Salisu, 22, had what many consider to be one of his best games ever in a Saints shirt during the 1-1 draw with Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday.
His dominant and assured performance was summed up going into six minutes of added time, when his last-ditch but equally measured sliding extension snatched the ball from the feet of the breaking Kevin De Bruyne.
However, BBC pundit Crooks, who selects his team of the week from the round of Premier League matches every week, opted not to select the Saints man.
Laporte, who is a Spanish international, scored the equalising goal in the second-half from a De Bruyne free-kick, turning home a header unmarked at the back-post.
“A lot was made of the performance by Mohammed Salisu against Manchester City,” Crooks told BBC.
“But I've seen this lad play before and he can do something brilliant one minute and then something utterly reckless the next.
“I tend to prefer defenders who are consistent, steady and generally reliable.”
He continued: “Aymeric Laporte falls into that category and is capable of scoring the occasional goal when his team is in trouble.”
However, Crooks did choose one Saints defender for his team – also picking goalscorer Kyle Walker-Peters, who opened the scoring inside the first seven minutes at St Mary’s.
He said: “There were a number of notable displays for Southampton against a slightly unconvincing Manchester City that were worthy of a mention. Kyle Walker-Peters was certainly one of them.
“The former Tottenham full-back seems to have found his wings at St Mary's. Walker-Peters struggled to get regular game time at Spurs but since his move to the south coast the defender has grown immeasurably.
“The Saints are pretty good at developing talented defenders who arrive with a reputation but little experience.
“Former Chelsea defender Ryan Bertrand was another player who only became established when he moved to Southampton on a permanent basis. Walker-Peters looks like he's being groomed in the same mould."
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