FULL-TIME, and Southampton take an enormous step away from the relegation zone with this 3-1 win. In truth they were handed all three goals by the visitors, particularly Gareth Barry whose own goal sealed Manchester City’s fate in the second half. However, that should take nothing away from Saints, who were by far the better team and deserve to secure Mauricio Pochettino’s first win as manager. The away side meanwhile should be very worried after an insipid and lifeless display, and could see their Manchester rivals stretch their lead atop the Premier League table even further.
90' +4
Saints fans are whistling all around the ground now. They're just seconds away from a famous win as their team see out the game.
90' +2
Gareth Barry has had a nightmare today, and is whistled for another foul on the centre circle. Not long now for Southampton.
90'
Corner to Manchester City, as we hear there will be five minutes of added time.
89'
Great tackle there from substitute James Ward-Prowse, who takes the ball away from Kolarov as he's close to the penalty area.
88'
There goes Jack Cork, who takes it into the corner and forces Manchester City to clear wildly and keep the ball in their half.
86'
Great ball there from Kolarov, but Aguero is just behind it and can't quite get his foot there.
85'
Great ball there to Rodriguez but he's just offside before he can go one-on-one with Joe Hart. Rodriguez has been absolutely superb this evening.
83'
Saints are spraying the ball all over the place at the moment, and look absolutely superb. City are chasing the game, and some of their players are showing real signs of fatigue.
80'
J. Ward-Prowse enters the game and replaces S. Davis.
Steven Davis' only goals in the Premier League this term have come against Manchester City today and on the first day of the season. He's taken off to a standing ovation.
Minute
Description
78'
A little cynical there from Kolarov, who lunges in slightly late on substitute Frazer Richardson. No card, but a warning from referee Martin Atkinson.
76'
Cross in from Kolarov and Yaya Toure is there but can't poke a shot past Boruc. Saints smothered that chance very well and had so many bodies back to defend.
73'
Maicon enters the game and replaces David Silva.
Jack Cork has been rather quiet today, but has a shot from outside the box that goes well over the bar. He was under absolutely no pressure there, it's as though City just don't fancy this today.
71'
F. Richardson enters the game and replaces D. Fox.
However, there is a slight delay as Danny Fox is down with an injury and will have to be replaced. He seemed to have a hamstring problem early in the game, so he's done well to stick it out this far.
70'
Y. Touré gets yellow.
What a miserable day for Yaya Toure, who fouls Schneiderlin and picks himself up a booking.
69'
City come forward and Dzeko creates a great chance for himself but he dawdles on the ball and it's cleared for a corner. They've been ponderous coming forward.
66'
A. Kolarov enters the game and replaces J. Lescott.
Schneiderlin has an effort from just outside the box on the half-volley but sends it well wide.
64'
David Silva is one player who just hasn't been at the races today, as Nathaniel Clyne once again takes the ball off him.
61'
A. Lallana enters the game and replaces J. Puncheon.
Hilarious shot there from Yaya Toure, who lashes a shot high and wide to the delight of the Saints fans.
60'
Saints are looking very confident, but will undoubtedly need to weather an enormous storm if they are to take all three points. However, the way they are playing at the moment, City don't look capable of scoring again.
57'
First touch there for James Milner, who lashes a shot wide of the mark after a corner is half-cleared by Southampton.
56'
J. Milner enters the game and replaces S. Nasri.
Great save! The ball comes through to Aguero at the back post and Boruc is there to parry his left-footed shot away.
55'
Manchester City are really under the cosh here, but manage to just about clear the ball away. They are starting to look very ordinary out there.
52'
Saints are piling on the pressure and City don't look capable of coping at the moment, although they can have a breather as Fox's lob to Lambert is just too heavy and goes behind.
50'
G. Clichy gets yellow.
It's not been a good day for Gael Clichy, who is booked for pulling back Puncheon on Southampton's right.
48'
G. Barry is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
GOAL!!! That is an inexplicable own goal from Gareth Barry! Lambert slides in a cross on the ground that dribbles along the turf, and under no pressure at all the midfielder puts the ball into his own net. They have gifted Saints all three goals here, none more so than that one.
47'
Lambert is up there alone, holds up the ball and plays in Puncheon, who blazes his shot over the bar. Great play from the Saints captain.
46'
We're back already for the second half, which is kicked off by Manchester City
45' +3
HALF-TIME, and Southampton lead 2-1 in an intriguing half of football at St. Mary’s. The away side were the architects of their own downfall in the goals they conceded, with their defenders not dealing with a rebound to give Jason Puncheon the chance to open the scoring and then Joe Hart making a horrendous error to let in Steven Davis. The champions looked all at sea for much of the first half, but then Edin Dzeko’s dinked finish gave them hope. They could really do with winning this, so the second period promises to be fascinating.
45' +2
Penalty, surely? Jay Rodriguez has been dynamite on the left, and is leaned on by Yaya Toure and goes down in the box. The Saints fans feel they should have a penalty, and it's easy to agree with them.
45' +1
Great chance there for Morgan Schneiderlin, whose sliding shot hits the side netting after a great cross from Rodriguez.
45'
Two minutes will be added on.
42'
City look much more confident now, and they'll be hopeful of getting an equaliser now they've pulled one back.
39'
E. Džeko has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by P. Zabaleta.
GOAL!!! Manchester City have one back! The away side break, Zabaleta comes forward and squares the ball to Dzeko, whose unorthodox finish bobbles into the net. They're back in this.
38'
Great shot there from Clyne, who has a dig from long-range under absolutely no pressure from a City defender and sees his effort deflected just wide.
37'
Great defending there from Yoshida, who shepherds the ball out of play like an absolute master. He's showing no signs of jet-lag, having been to Japan and back to play for his national side.
35'
Slight frustration there from Yaya Toure, who barrels into Nathaniel Clyne when there was no need to.
33'
Wow, that was nearly 3-0. Manchester City can't deal with a bouncing ball and Jay Rodriguez is able to lash a shot just past the post. They are all over the place, still.
31'
Saints are keeping the pressure up very far up the pitch and making their opponents look nervous and perhaps slightly tired. They then force another corner.
28'
That was nearly a penalty. Aguero comes through and is clipped by Jos Hooiveld just inches outside the box. However, Aguero puts the resulting free kick straight into the wall.
27'
R. Lambert gets yellow.
Oh Ricky. The Saints captain is booked for a cynical tug on Joleon Lescott.
25'
Where do they go from here? City have been their own worst enemies in this game, but do have a lot of time to turn this around.
22'
S. Davis has scored a goal for Southampton!
GOAL!!! SOUTHAMPTON ARE 2-0 UP!!! Lambert fires in a shot, Joe Hart spills the ball horrendously and Steven Davis is there to put the ball away. Horrible error from Hart, absolutely horrible.
21'
Nice cross from Zabaleta who's galloping forward on the right, and it's headed behind by Nathaniel Clyne. The resulting corner doesn't clear the first man and Saints manage to clear the danger.
19'
Great cross in from Fox, but Puncheon isn't quite tall enough and the ball is headed clear.
16'
Aguero comes forward and skews a shot well wide that could have been tucked away by a team-mate, but none are nearby and the chance goes begging.
15'
Pablo Zabaleta is put through by a lobbed pass, but unfortunately for the away team he's offside. First bit of sustained City pressure and Southampton are holding firm.
13'
How's this for a stat? Southampton have lost 24 points from leading positions this season, more than any other side in the Premier League. They'll be hoping they can hold this today, and at the moment they look fairly comfortable on the ball.
10'
Dear me, the away side are all over the place as a back-pass sells Joe Hart short and he's forced to slide the ball away with Lambert lurking nearby.
9'
Early response from Sergio Aguero, who powers in a shot from outside the box that goes straight into Artur Boruc's gloves.
7'
J. Puncheon has scored a goal for Southampton!
GOAL!!! SOUTHAMPTON ARE AHEAD! Rodriguez has a shot deflected away, none of the City defenders get to the ball and Puncheon is there to pounce and put the ball away. 1-0 Saints, what a good start that was.
6'
Great ball there from Jason Puncheon finds Lambert at the back post, but his header is cleared before it can find a Saints colleague.
5'
Great lobbed ball there from Steven Davis to Jay Rodriguez from the right, but Hart is there to claim and then berate his team-mates for allowing that to come through to him.
4'
Shame there from Danny Fox, who tries to play an expansive through ball to Rickie Lambert but over-hits it straight to Joe Hart.
2'
David Silva already looks full of running down the left, although Maya Yoshida is up to the task for Saints.
1'
Here we go! Southampton kick off the first half.
Good evening, and welcome to Goal.com’s LIVE! text commentary on this game between Southampton and Manchester City. My name is Chris Teale, and I’m delighted you could join me for this one.
Southampton have looked pretty good under manager Mauricio Pochettino, but have been unable to pick up a win under the Argentine since he took over from Nigel Adkins. Saints now find themselves perched just three points above the relegation zone, so will want to pick up some points quickly and give themselves more breathing space in their first season back in the top flight.
Manchester City are currently nine points behind league leaders and city rivals Manchester United, and have drawn their last two games in the Premier League against QPR and Liverpool to give their neighbours more chances to pull away. However, with players back from the African Cup of Nations and captain Vincent Kompany on the road to recovery, they will hope to reduce the deficit as soon as possible.
How are those teams looking? First, here’s Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fox, S. Davis, Schneiderlin, Cork, Puncheon, Lambert, Rodriguez. Subs: K. Davis, Forren, Ward-Prowse, Lee, Lallana, Richardson, Chaplow.
Not long until the start here, as both sides make their way onto the pitch at St. Mary’s.
Southampton will have to do without the impressive youngster Luke Shaw in defence as he cannot recover from the ligament damage he suffered on international duty, with Danny Fox coming in for the home side. Meanwhile, Manchester City make two changes, with Javi Garcia dropping into the defence to replace the injured Matija Nastasic and Yaya Toure slotting into the midfield having returned from African Cup of Nations duty. The other change sees Samir Nasri in for James Milner.
Thank you for joining me this evening, and stick with Goal.com for reaction from all today’s games as well as tomorrow’s Premier League and European action. I’ve been Chris Teale, it’s been a pleasure as always.
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