Southampton vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League

Southampton's first genuinely poor performance of the 2014-15 Premier League season coincided with what was arguably Manchester City's best on Sunday. The result? A 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the reigning champions.

Despite an Eliaquim Mangala red card, City took the lead through Yaya Toure, doubled it through Frank Lampard and sealed it via Gael Clichy on the counterattack.

Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.

Loser: Referee Mike Jones, Who Had a Nightmare

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Mike Jones had an atrocious day's work on the St. Mary's pitch on Sunday, botching several decisions and showing major inconsistencies throughout.

He booked Sergio Aguero for diving in a stonewall penalty incident early on, showed a lack of continuity in booking for professional fouls and missed another foul on Aguero outside the box by Toby Alderweireld.

He irritated the home faithful by calling back an advantage that saw Morgan Schneiderlin galloping through midfield at pace when Saints really needed a break and then failed to book Pablo Zabaleta late on for a bad body check on Sadio Mane.

He did at least get the Mangala red card right.

Winner: Sergio Aguero, Who Was Man of the Match

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

He didn't score, but that didn't matter.

Sergio Aguero was in scintillating form once again, building on his excellent showing against Bayern Munich with another brilliant 90 minutes here.

He created or had a hand in all of the goals, should have had a penalty and tormented Southampton's back line throughout. Incredible play.

Loser: Dusan Tadic, the Worst Player on the Pitch

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Dusan Tadic has been an excellent signing for Southampton so far, but for the last two games, he's really struggled to impact in a positive fashion.

Against Aston Villa on Monday, he essentially did nothing, and against Manchester City on Sunday, he struggled mightily. He was too slow to turn, to release and to act in almost every situation.

Perhaps the fixture list is catching up with him?

Winner: The Premier League Title Race, Which Received a Shot in the Arm

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

It's not what Southampton fans want to hear, but this performance by Manchester City was stunning. Coupled with Chelsea's dropping of points against Sunderland, Week 13 in the Premier League has given us genuine hope of a renewed, more interesting title race.

Man City have fumbled their way to December but now appear to be hitting form. Aguero is in remarkable form, and his midfield is finally catching up.

Those convinced the only excitement would be found at the opposite end of the table come May could be proven wrong if the Citizens recover.

Loser: Southampton's Set Piece Preparations

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

In 2014, it seems far too common to see corners failing to beat the first man, particularly from top-tier teams with top-tier talent. Southampton were no different on Sunday.

Every corner earned by Southampton was wasted, and the final one—another poor delivery from Steven Davis—was chested down, played out and turned into a counterattacking goal by Clichy.

Not only did Saints wholly fail to remotely threaten from dead-ball situations, but they also put themselves under pressure due to poor deliveries.

Follow @stighefootball