SOUTHAMPTON 0, MANCHESTER CITY 3
- Vincent Kompany starts with John Stones absent due to injury
- Kompany scores his first Manchester City goal since August 2015
- Kevin De Bruyne lays on late goals for Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero as City counter attack
Vincent Kompany scored his first goal in over a year as Manchester City found a way to break down Southampton who were then twice caught on the break late on by Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero.
City moved up into third place with victory at St Marys helping them to increase the gap between the champions League places and the chasing pack to seven points.
Everton and Manchester United – who will visit the Etihad in little under two weeks – will join Arsenal in fighting Liverpool and City for two Champions League spots after Pep Guardiola claimed the Manchester derby would be the deciding factor.
Guardiola had named Kompany in the side at Southampton – only his eighth appearance of another injury-hit season – after John Stones had pulled out due to an injury. He was joined in the team by Nicolas Otamendi, Fernandinho and Kevin De Bruyne who came in for Aleksandar Kolarov, Fabian Delph, and Raheem Sterling. Claudio Bravo retained his place in the team.
Both sides were guilty of wasting chances early on with Dusan Tadic blasting a shot over while Leroy Sane was denied a penalty after Fraser Forster reached the ball before bringing the German down.
City might have got going a little earlier had David Silva not missed a golden opportunity in an otherwise sterile first half but he did provide the ball from the corner that City’s captain scored from with a header after 55 minutes.
Joy for Vincent Kompany after scoring his first goal since August 2015
He had already proved to be one of City’s outstanding performers on the day along with the rest of his defence but Kompany’s goal – a headed effort from six yards out with Maya Yoshida in his shadow – saw the Belgian release months worth of injury frustration with an outpouring of relief and joy.
It had looked possible that City would be throwing away points on the back of poor finishing again as Aguero also fluffed his lines in the early stages.
Claudio Bravo, at least, made his first save in eight attempts from Yoshida but City then broke Southampton hearts on the break.
Relief was palpable for City fans when Kevin De Bruyne laid on goals in the 77th and 80th minutes that made sure of the result.
Leroy Sane slotted his ninth goal of the season from a low cross and Sergio Aguero’s header – his 29th of the season and his 11th goal in 11 games – made sure of the points.