Manuel Akanji has targeted two wins from Manchester City’s final two matches to ensure Champions League football.

City were held to a goalless draw at rock-bottom Southampton on Saturday, meaning they are still not guaranteed a top-five finish.

Following next weekend’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, City face a visit from Bournemouth and a trip to Fulham.

They could well need to win both to make sure fellow Champions League hopefuls Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest cannot overhaul them.

City could have made life far more comfortable for themselves had they beaten Saints, but they were unable to find a breakthrough at St Mary’s despite a dominant performance.

“It’s frustrating when you don’t score a goal,” said Swiss centre-half Akanji. “When you score it’s frustrating for them because they tried everything and it didn’t work.

“They have to open up and it gives us space – but when you don’t score it’s really frustrating. I feel like everything we could do – maybe we could have done things a bit better – but we tried.

“Obviously for the Champions League, if we won maybe we’d be in already but the good thing is it’s in our own hands and if we win the last two games in the league we’ll definitely be in.”

Relegated Southampton’s battling point meant they edged past Derby’s record low tally of 11 in 2007/8.

One of their star performers was teenage winger Tyler Dibling, who was back in the starting line-up having been relegated to the bench for the previous four matches by interim boss Simon Rusk.

“When I took over the job, one of my areas of expertise, if you like, is working with young, gifted footballers and having a deep understanding of the pressures and complexities that come with that,” said Rusk.

“I think he needed a bit of breathing space as a young man because he’s gone through a lot this year and it’s not easy at this level of football, particularly in a team that’s having a difficult time over a long period.

“Sometimes with young players you’ve got to push and pull at the right time, you’ve got to have the right conversations at the right time, you’ve got to help them add meaning to good times and bad times.

“Hopefully he’s found that little balance, and I thought his work rate to defend was outstanding.”

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