The trio are joined by last year’s winner Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Browsing: Pep Guardiola
Two places and three points separate the bitter rivals in the table at present, one manager certainly under more pressure than his counterpart
The 21-year-old has become integral to the City team, starring as they reached a first-ever Champions League final last season.
A game which Pep Guardiola’s side had bossed in the first half exploded into life after the break with the stand-out moment being Salah’s weaving effort, of which Lionel Messi would have been proud.
The two powerhouses currently occupy first and second in the Premier League table after six matches, with Jurgen Klopp’s side one point above their title rivals at the summit.
Pep Guardiola’s team might even have felt relieved to claim a point after referee Jon Moss overturned decisions to award Southampton a penalty and send Kyle Walker off in the second half.
Title holders City suffered an opening day defeat at Tottenham Hotspur but responded with wins over Norwich City, Arsenal and Leicester City to move up to fourth.
Both sides recorded crushing victories in their most recent encounters, with City easing to a 5-0 success over Norwich City, while the Gunners thrashed West Bromwich Albion 6-0 in the EFL Cup.
But with the conditions for Ronaldo’s lucrative contract at City now believed to have been ironed out, it falls to City to negotiate a fee
Guardiola is now in the penultimate year of his deal at the Etihad Stadium, where he has been in charge since July 2016.
The champions lost the Community Shield against Leicester and their Premier League opener at Tottenham without scoring, but they put the Canaries to the sword in the Manchester rain.
Kane is understood to want to leave Spurs and did not report back for pre-season training this week.
City paid a fee of 100 million pounds ($139 million), Villa chief executive Christian Purslow confirmed.
The England international is believed to be a leading transfer target for Pep Guardiola’s side, who are also being linked with a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.
Guardiola has now won this award third time in his managerial career, having also claimed it in his two previous title-winning campaigns – 2017-18 and 2018-19.
De Bruyne was in floods of tears as he had to be substituted in the 60th minute of the game in Porto before City slumped to a 1-0 defeat to miss out on the club’s first ever European success.
Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute as the Blues edged City to give manager Thomas Tuchel his first Champions League title.
Pep Guardiola’s men advanced to the showpiece event after dumping Paris Saint-Germain out in the semi-finals, while all-time greats Real Madrid were no match for Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
This weekend sees the Premier League wrap up for this season, with Manchester City celebrating their title triumph with a clash at home to Everton at the Etihad Stadium
The Toffees are positioned eighth in the table and just three points off sixth, while Man City will now have more than one eye on next week’s Champions League final.