SOUTHAMPTON 1, MANCHESTER CITY 3
Manchester City recorded a much needed victory over Southampton at St Mary’s after a poor run of 3 defeats in 4 Premier League games in December.
Embed from Getty ImagesDavid Silva and Sergio Aguero scored either side of a James Ward-Prowse own goal with the Saints briefly levelling the scores through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg before the Danish midfielder was sent off late on after City had accelerated away.
City boss Pep Guardiola made several enforced changes – Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne were missing with injuries while Fabian Delph was suspended after being sent off in the defeat at Leicester City and John Stones and Leroy Sane started on the bench.
Oleksandr Zinchenko came into the side for Delph for his first Premier League start of the season while the much missed Fernandinho also came back from injury to start alongside David Silva, Riyad Mahrez, and Vincent Kompany.
And it was David Silva who opened the scoring after Bernardo Silva centre from the right was converted by the late arriving Spaniard from 10 yards out.
Silva had earlier been thwarted by Alex McCarthy in the Saints’ goal after Sterling had found his team mate following some good wing-play in the box.
Guardiola will be a little worried at the lack of clinical finishing again with Mahrez curling a shot wide, and later shooting straight at McCarthy, while Sergio Aguero’s shot was also saved by the Southampton ‘keeper.
The Saints had given plenty for City’s nervy defence to worry about – with Charlie Austin twice denied by Ederson.
Southampton finally capitalised on defensive sloppiness by Zinchenko as Hojbjerg robbed the dawdling Ukraine midfielder before skipping past half hearted challenges on the edge of the area and slotting past Ederson.
James Ward-Prowse had a claim for a penalty turned down as Zinchenko tussled with the Southampton attacker as the home side chased a second goal but it was the visitors who regained the advantage.
Raheem Sterling’s angled attack from the left was put through his own goal by the luckless Ward-Prowse to restore City’s lead just before first half injury time before Sergio Aguero extended that lead deep into first half injury time.
The Argentine hitman headed home Zinchenko’s pinpoint cross from the left to give City some breathing space – the Ukrainian refused to be downhearted by his earlier mistakes to find his team mate 6 yards out.
City tried to score a fourth but McCarthy bravely saved with his face as Raheem Sterling put in a rising shot from 6 yards out.
Sterling’s own penalty shout in the second half after being bundled over by Yan Valery was waved away by the referee.
Aguero rattled the crossbar with a curling shot in the second half but the Southampton challenge ended with the sending off of Hojbjerg for a nasty foul on Fernandinho with five minutes to go.
Fernandinho had already been targeted earlier by Austin for some rough treatment which didn’t please Guardiola.
Thursday’s crunch match is no less important for City, though, as they seek to reel back Liverpool’s seven point lead after leapfrogging Spurs back into second place.