London, November 30
Champions Manchester City galvanised their pursuit of Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday with an emphatic 3-0 victory over a Southampton side who have surprisingly come between the leading title protagonists.
With table-topping Chelsea held to a 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday, victory for City at fortress St Mary’s took them above Southampton into second place with 27 points, six behind The Blues.
After a less than convincing start to the attempted defence of their title, City’s display against Southampton saw them back to their free-flowing best as goals from Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy condemned Ronald Koeman’s high-flying side to a first home defeat of the season. City screamed for a penalty for a foul on Aguero in a goalless first half when Jose Fonte’s hefty challenge wiped the Argentine out in the box. Incredibly Aguero, making his 100th EPL appearance, was booked for diving.
But Toure, so often City’s go-to man on their way to the title last season, put his side in front after 51 minutes when his low shot from the edge of the area flicked off defender Toby Alderweireld and past Fraser Forster.
When defender Eliaquim Mangala received a second yellow for a foul on Shane Long it seemed Southampton had a lifeline but that was snatched away when Lampard ghosted through into space and buried his shot low into the corner after being picked out by James Milner.
Clichy hammered the final nail into Southampton’s coffin when he turned the ball home in the 88th minute. — Reuters