Manchester City vs. Southampton: Points to Ponder from City's 3-2 Victory

Whatever way you look at it, Manchester City's 3-2 victory over Southampton in the opening round of the 2012/13 English Premier League was not what everybody expected it to be.

The Citizens were supposed to be organized, cohesive in defense, dominant in attack and run out four or five goal winners by most people's reckoning. And whilst they did indeed get the three competition points, they did it in a manner that few expected—tough, gritty and coming from behind.

Looking back on the match, there is no doubt a lot to talk about and a myriad of questions that simply do not have answers this far into the season.

So let's simply reflect on the match that was and go through what I'll call our "points to ponder" from City's 3-2 victory over Southampton at the Etihad. Opinions, comments, thoughts are all welcome.

1. Southampton Are Better Than Advertised

It must be noted that before we begin any discussion on the reigning Premier League champions, we must first acknowledge the excellent team performance that Southampton displayed in their opening round encounter.

To play an away game at the Etihad in the first round of the EPL after being promoted from the Championship is arguably the toughest fixture possible, and Southampton did themselves no disrespect, going down 3-2 in the end.

Whilst they were perhaps unlucky not to get at least a point from this result, what they will take away is plenty of confidence that they can mix it up with the best in the league. This team is far better than advertised, and doesn't look like they'll just be a relegation-battler all season.

2. The Effect of Sergio Aguero's Injury

Perhaps bigger than the result itself was the injury to Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, who twisted his knee in a tackle from Nathaniel Clyne early in the match. Aguero was forced off the field—he never returned—and now City face an anxious wait as to how long their star player is missing for.

The effect of the injury on their squad was apparent—they took time to gel in attack again and Carlos Tevez didn't combine as well in attack with Dzeko as he would Aguero. David Silva tentatively pushed at his penalty—a penalty Aguero would likely have taken and scored—and whilst City do have depth in their strikers, none have the class and skill of Aguero.

No information is known on how long the striker will be out for (per The Daily Mail), and it will be interesting to see how City manage in attack without the 24-year-old.

3. Was This a Poor Result for City?

The question must be asked as to whether this was a poor performance from City—after all, they barely defeated Southampton at their home ground after taking a 1-0 lead into half-time. This was a fixture that they should have won comfortably, and didn't.

There are reasons for concern from City—as Bleacher Report's Yosoof Farah points out—and the general talk coming out of this match is that the reigning champions were sluggish, slow and generally poor in their opening match.

Their midfield didn't click all the time, and their attack didn't have direction at times either; they made simple errors that almost cost them three competition points. It's hard not to say that they were rather poor in their season opener.

4. Was This a Good Result for City?

Yet at the same time, I'd also want to argue that this is a good result for City and one that they should take plenty of heart from. The suffered an injury to arguably their best attacking player and the final score doesn't really reflect the chances that City had throughout the match.

Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Samir Nasri all should have probably scored goals that they didn't in this one. Had those been taken, we'd be talking about a 7-2 flogging rather than a "poor" performance from a "sluggish" team.

And at the end of the day, City did what needed to be done. They got three points and are undefeated—everything they needed to do to start their season strong. They proved that they can win close matches; they can come from behind; they can overcome injuries, and they can get the job done when their backs are against the wall.

For me, that's a good result.

5. What's the Deal with Jack Rodwell?

This wasn't the debut performance that Jack Rodwell was looking for after transferring to City from Everton over the summer transfer window (per BBC Sport).

He was touted as a perennial bench-warmer for the club—unlikely to receive game time—but had an opportunity to prove everyone wrong when Roberto Mancini started him in their season opener against Southampton.

His inexperience in a fluid midfield showed—he was directly responsible for Southampton's second goal and almost cost his side three competition points. Rodwell offered next to nothing going forward—something that simply doesn't work in an attacking unit like the Citizens.

It will be interesting to see how Mancini uses his latest signing throughout the year after his mediocre performance in his debut.

6. What Can We Expect Next Week?

Looking forward, then, Manchester City are away next week to Liverpool—a side that was completely humiliated in their opening round drubbing by lowly West Bromwich Albion. The Reds will be desperate to improve, but whether they can do so against a City side bound to improve also still remains to be seen.

Should City gel better against Liverpool, it's hard to see anything other than a win for the Citizens. Mancini's men will need to finish much better than they did against Southampton, and with the attacking talent they have, they will cover the loss of Aguero well.

It will be interesting to see what difference a week makes for the reigning Premier League champions who, despite it being different from what many expected, have started the season exactly how they wanted—with three competition points to their name.

What are you pondering following the 3-2 victory?

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