SOUTHAMPTON (Sporting Alert) — Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy scored second half goals to guide 10-man Manchester City to a 2-0 win over Southampton in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Shane Long in the 74th minute — trying to recover a ball that Toure gave away in his own half.
However, that didn’t halt Manuel Pellegrini’s side, which went on to score two more goals after going down a player at St Mary’s.
Toure put the visitors ahead in the 51st minute when the midfielder fired home a slightly deflected shot off Toby Alderweireld after picking up a Sergio Aguero pull back pass.
Lampard double the lead six-minutes after Mangala’s red card when he collected a pass from James Milner and struck a low and hard shot from the edge of the area past Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the 80th minute.
Full-back Clichy sealed the three points for the defending champions two minutes from time after he blasted home from seven-yards.
“I am very pleased,” Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports after the game. “We beat a very good team. They were second in the table and deserved that position.
“We played a very good game it was important to have a clean sheet again, they had just one chance in the 90 minutes and that is important for the trust in our team, and to score three goals against the best defence is also very important.”
“We all look at tables during the week, and we are disappointed with where we are for a club like City, but we have to keep winning, keep moving forwards and go game by game,” former Chelsea midfielder Lampard said on Sky Sports.
Manchester City finished the contest with nine-man after captain Vincent Kompany limped off with an injury.
Pellegrini’s side now moved to second place on 27 points with the win and is now six points behind leaders Chelsea, while Southampton (26pts), who had only conceded three goals in the league so far this season and one in their last eight games, dropped to third with more big games to come.
“We know in three days we have to play Arsenal away. There is no time to be disappointed and that you have to learn about the mistakes,” Southampton manager Ronald Koeman told Sky Sports.
“If you like to beat these big teams you have to play better. That is what I have said to the players.
“I’m disappointed. It (our performance) was not good enough today and we have to realise that. The difference was the quality.”
Manchester City finished with 15 shots with six of those on target for their three goals, while Southampton had 13 shots with Joe Hart making four saves.
A total 23 combined fouls were committed in the game with 13 going to City and 10 to the Saints.
