Manchester City return to winning ways with Southampton’s 3-1 thrashing

Manchester City have regained grounds in the title race with a 3-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.

David Silva converted Bernardo Silva’s pull-back to give City the lead on 10 minutes.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg drew Southampton level eight minutes before the break, tackling Oleksandr Zinchenko and firing past Ederson.

A James Ward-Prowse own goal restored City’s advantage before Sergio Aguero headed Zinchenko’s cross past Alex McCarthy in first-half stoppage time.

Manchester City pressed for a fourth goal, but both Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were thwarted by the in-form McCarthy before Hojbjerg received a straight red card with five minutes remaining.

The win, which ended a run of two successive defeats, means the champions close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to seven points ahead of Thursday’s match between the two sides.