Manchester City vs. Southampton: Score, Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Manchester City survived some tense moments early in the second half en route to a 3-1 victory over Southampton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Aleksandar Kolarov scored for City, moving the club to the top of the Premier League table for the time being. Shane Long netted the only goal for the Saints, who made too many defensive mistakes to keep pace with a top-tier opponent.

City entered the match having lost back-to-back matches to Liverpool and Juventus. Manuel Pellegrini felt the side's dip in form since an early-November triumph over Sevilla in the Champions League can be explained by the relief of advancing in the marquee tournament, per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian.

"It's always important to remember what we're doing because maybe when you qualify for the next stage of the Champions League that is the week our performance dipped," the manager said. "Maybe not consciously you relax and that reflects in two or three balls in a game and that decides the score."

Perhaps that message resonated with the players, because the Sky Blues certainly looked far more like title contenders during the early going against Southampton.

They put the first goal on the board less than 10 minutes into the match courtesy of De Bruyne.

A dreadful giveaway by Saints right back Maya Yoshida allowed Raheem Sterling to make an unimpeded run into the box. Once he drew a couple of defenders, the England international slid a pass to De Bruyne, who easily tapped the ball into an open net.

Saints News & Views highlighted the problem of playing Yoshida on the outside rather than in his natural central position:

OptaJoe showcased the strong home form of De Bruyne in league play:

Delph made it 2-0 in the 20th minute thanks to a bit of good fortune.

A De Bruyne corner somehow managed to find its way through a maze of players and onto Delph's left foot. He unleashed a laser that ricocheted off Virgil van Dijk and dribbled past a hapless Maarten Stekelenburg to increase the lead.

Shane Burns of the Football News Network discussed the midfielder's solid play:

"

He may not have a global name or cost £30m but Fabian Delph has been very very impressive when played for Manchester City this season. #mcfc

— Shane (@FNN_Official) November 28, 2015"

Southampton finally managed to get a foothold in the match after the second tally. They started to see more possession and put at least some pressure on the City defense, but good scoring opportunities remained elusive throughout the first 45 minutes.

WhoScored.com provided the half-time statistics:

The Saints brought some drama back into the fixture shortly after the break.

Sadio Mane managed to find some open space on the outside and whipped in a picture-perfect cross to the back post. Long had made a nice run to that area and rose above the City defense to head the ball past Willy Caballero, who's filling in for the injured Joe Hart.

BBC Solent Sport put the quick, efficient build-up on display:

Squawka Football passed along an interesting, albeit not overly surprising, note following the goal:

The Saints continued to push forward aggressively in search of the equalizer. Long and Dusan Tadic both had promising looks to level the score but couldn't find the back of the net. Caballero came up with a clutch stop on the Tadic effort.

After surviving a flurry of activity in their own attacking third, City regained their two-goal cushion off a clinical finish from Kolarov.

De Bruyne once again set the stage by showing off terrific vision to spot the wide-open defender, who had moved forward into open space in the box. He calmly collected the lofted cross, and his shot found its way through traffic and just inside the far corner of the net to make it 3-1.

Mark Booth of the club's official site broke down an impressive series of plays that made the goal possible:

City put up a defensive wall from that point forward to secure the three points. They're one point clear of Leicester City and two ahead of rival Manchester United, with those two sides set to face off in a marquee matchup later Saturday.

The club celebrated the triumph:

Looking ahead, Manchester City continue their busy stretch of matches with a fifth-round League Cup clash against Hull City on Tuesday. The Sky Blues will return to Premier League action next Saturday when they visit Stoke City.

Southampton returns to St. Mary's Stadium for a pair of games next week. The Saints are set to face off with Liverpool in the League Cup on Wednesday and then welcome Aston Villa to town Saturday with hopes of ending their two-game losing skid in league play.

Post-Match Reaction

City noted Pellegrini credited his squad for bouncing back quickly from a frustrating midweek result in the Champions League:

BBC Solent Sport passed along reaction from Southampton boss Ronald Koeman, who pointed toward the miscues as the clear reason for the loss:

Although Manchester City didn't play their most complete match and nearly let the Saints fight back for a point, they capitalized when it mattered most to get the victory. Their form must continue to improve if they want to capture some trophies by season's end, though.