Southampton vs Manchester City. Premier League.
St. Mary's StadiumAttendance31,381.
Report and highlights as Pep Guardiola's side warm up for Sky Live Liverpool showdown with victory
Monday 31 December 2018 06:19, UK
Manchester City rallied from successive defeats to reassert themselves in the Premier League title race with a 3-1 win over Southampton at St Mary's.
David Silva's 10th-minute opener was scant reward for City's slick early play, yet Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - who was later sent off - threatened another troubling afternoon for the champions when he lashed Saints level (37).
But the game turned back decisively in a dramatic end to the first half as James Ward-Prowse, after being denied a penalty, diverted into his own net (45), before Sergio Aguero struck (45+3) to seal a result that lifts City back into second.
Pep Guardiola's side had surrendered the title initiative to Liverpool during a cheerless December featuring three league defeats, but they head into Thursday's showdown with the leaders seven points behind, knowing victory in front of the Sky Sports cameras could trim an ominous gap to four points.
Guardiola had talked up his stuttering side's stats ahead of the game and they started with purpose, David Silva forcing a fine save from Alex McCarthy before slotting past him soon after when namesake Bernardo and Riyad Mahrez combined.
Charlie Austin dithered when through on goal just moments before the breakthrough and City's bravado at the back might have been punished but Saints were camped in by City's one-touch weaving, Aguero thwarted by McCarthy after another sweeping move down the right.
See Man City and Liverpool go head to head on Sky Sports Premier League.
A shift in momentum was unexpected but it came as Austin forced Ederson into a fine save with a flicked header, before Hojbjerg robbed Oleksandr Zinchenko of the ball and rifled into the roof of the net.
Guardiola slumped into his seat but the game suddenly lurched back in his side's favour. Ward-Prowse called for a penalty after tumbling under close attention from Zinchenko but straight up the other end, unwittingly prodded Raheem Sterling's cross beyond his goalkeeper.
Aguero met Zinchenko's cross minutes later and Southampton hope, having been swiftly snuffed out, never looked like reigniting.
City bossed the ball after the break but though Sterling had a series of opportunities - denied on one occasion by McCarthy's head - and Aguero hit a post, they were unable to add further gloss to the scoreline.
The tiring Saints finished with 10 men as Hojbjerg saw red (85) for a meaty challenge on Fernandinho but the game was long gone, home supporters streaming out as City's travelling fans warned Jurgen Klopp's Reds: "We'll fight to the end."
Back in the starting XI, Silva opened the scoring and was City's chief creator in a largely dominant first half. He crafted four chances, was accurate with 91 per cent of his passes and has now scored home and away against the same side in a single season six times (Arsenal 13-14, Newcastle 14-15, Stoke 17-18, Swansea 17-18, WBA 14/15, Southampton 18/19).
Pep Guardiola
"The distance at the top is big but we want to be there as long as possible to fight for the Premier League."
Ralph Hasenhuttl
"The worst thing was the red card because Hojbjerg will be out for a few weeks. Ward-Prowse penalty? It's not 100 per cent a penalty but it was a crucial moment. At 3-1 it killed the match."
While City host Liverpool in that crunch encounter at the Etihad - live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm on Thursday - Southampton travel to Chelsea on January 2. Watch in-game clips and highlights from that game, and the rest of the New Year schedule, on the Sky Sports app.
