Frank Lampard scored on his final Premier League appearance as Manchester City ended their season by beating Southampton 2-0 this afternoon.
The midfielder placed a low cross from James Milner into the roof of the net to give City the lead in the first half.
Southampton struggled to come up with a response and Shane Long had their best chance with a low strike that forced a save from Joe Hart.
Sergio Aguero wrapped up the points late on with a close-range header to extend his side's winning run to six games.
Find out how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Hello everyone! It's been another exciting season in the Premier League and it all comes to an end this afternoon. We've got live coverage of every game, with our focus here on the events at the Etihad, where Manchester City are up against Southampton.
It hasn't been the greatest of campaigns for City, who have relinquished their title to Chelsea and have failed to pick up any silverware. However, they have been playing well recently and come into today's match having won their last five.
37 games later... A warm welcome to the Etihad Stadium for the final time in 2014/15. #mcfc #cityvsaints pic.twitter.com/l9vpSh0jtx
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) May 24, 2015
Southampton, meanwhile, have had a very impressive season and are on the verge of securing a European place. They could qualify in the position that they are in now, but they would need Aston Villa to lose the FA Cup final, so they won't want to leave it to chance.
Okay, the teams news has just filtered through so let's check out the two starting lineups, beginning with the hosts, who have named a former England international in their side for his last Premier League appearance.
MANCHESTER CITY XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Mangala, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Milner, Lampard, Toure, Silva, Aguero
SOUTHAMPTON XI: K. Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand, Wanyama, S. Davis, Djuricic, Mane, Long, Pelle
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Cabellero, Sagna, Kompany, Navas, Jovetic, Dzeko, Bony
SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Gazzaniga, Yoshida, Gardos, Ward-Prowse, Elia, Reed, Targett
So, that's how our teams line up this afternoon. City have handed a start to Frank Lampard, who is set to join New York City. He is also named as captain, with Vincent Kompany again on the bench. Manuel Pellegrini has actually named the same team that beat Swansea last weekend and it means that Sergio Aguero has the chance to add to his 25 league goals, with the Golden Boot pretty much in the bag.
The Saints have made a couple of changes to the team that cruised past Villa last weekend. Kelvin Davis returns in goal to make his 300th appearance for the club, with Paulo Gazzaniga dropping to the bench. Filip Djuricic is also back and replaces James Ward-Prowse, while the dangerous trio of Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle and Shane Long continue in the attack.
Things were certainly different a year ago for Manchester City, who ended their season by winning the title after beating West Ham. A repeat of that success has never looked like happening this time around and they have struggled to keep up with champions Chelsea.
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The Citizens have lacked the consistency needed to mount a title challenge and it even looked as if they might finish outside of the top three, before their recent winning run. Second place is guaranteed regardless of today's result, but the fans will still want to see their team turn on the style.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have certainly been playing well recently and in their last home match they hammered six goals past QPR. There was also plenty of action when they played Swansea last weekend, as they threw away a two-goal lead before eventually claiming a 4-2 win.
There is plenty of speculation surrounding who will manage the club next season and what players will still be here. It will definitely be Frank Lampard's last Premier League match before he heads to America and the midfielder will be hoping to end his career in English football on a high.
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Meanwhile, Southampton will go into the match hoping to secure a place in the top six that will earn them a Europa League spot. They would need Liverpool and Tottenham to both slip up, as well as winning today's match, but as I have mentioned, seventh place will be enough if Arsenal win the FA Cup next weekend.
The Saints haven't been in great form over the past month and they went into last week's match against Aston Villa without a win in four league games. However, they bounced back to emphatically thrash the Villans 6-1, with Sadio Mane grabbing an incredible hat-trick in under three minutes.
It's worth remembering the turmoil that the club suffered last summer, when manager Mauricio Pochettino and a number of big name players left. They weren't expected to be competing for a place in Europe, but hey have defied expeditions and Ronald Koeman deserves great praise for what he has achieved.
When these teams last met, it was City who came out on top with Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy all scoring in a 3-0 victory. That was their fifth win in seven games against the Saints and they even finished with 10 men after Eliaquim Mangala saw red.
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Southampton will have to win away at City for the first time since 2004 if they want the points this afternoon. They have already won in Manchester this year, beating United at Old Trafford, but their last victory on the road came in February against QPR.
PREDICTION: I think it's time for a quick prediction before the match kicks off. While the Saints are in need of the points, it will be tough for them against a Man City side in good form. They were great in last week's win over Villa, but I expect chances to be much harder to come by today, so I'm going to tip the hosts to win by a 2-0 scoreline.
There's not long left until today's match gets started, but there is still time to check out our video preview if you haven't seen it yet.
There's a great atmosphere at the Etihad with just five minutes left until kick. The players have both just made their ways out of the tunnel, with Lampard leading City out onto the pitch.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Etihad!
YELLOW CARD! With less than two minutes on the clock we have already had a booking. It's Demichelis who sees yellow, after a poor challenge down the left flank on Djuricic.
This has been a very bright start by Southampton, who have got into some very good areas already. They have whipped some dangerous balls into the City box and Pellegrini looks unhappy at how his team has begun.
City have just started to take a hold of the match and they are seeing plenty of the ball. We are still yet to see an attempt on goal from either side though, with very little action in the final third of the pitch.
Just a few signs here of City clicking into gear, with Silva and Toure showing some neat touches. Milner has also seen a dangerous cross blocked at the front post following a quickly taken corner, but Davis is yet to be tested.
The hosts are still in control of the match, but the visitors are holding firm. They look very solid at the back and their midfielders are working incredibly hard to win it back whenever their opponents are in possession.
It must be said, that a goal does not look like coming anytime soon, although if someone does get on the scoresheet then Silva might play a vital part. The Spaniard has been the most lively player on the pitch and he is finding some decent pockets of space to show his skill.
CHANCE! The first chance of the match comes to Southampton, as Long gets onto a flick from Pelle that was missed by Zabaleta, but his low effort towards the far corner is saved by Hart.
CHANCE! Down the other end of the pitch it's City who have a chance, as they break quickly with Silva leading the charge. He then threads a fine ball through to Aguero and it looks like the Argentine will find the back of the net, but he smashes his effort over the bar.
CHANCE! The game has suddenly sparked into life and City almost score again. There seemed little danger from Toure's low strike, but it was spilled by Davis into the path of Aguero. Once again you would expect the striker to find the net, but Davis recovers from his earlier mistake to block the follow up from point-blank range.
YELLOW CARD! It's a second booking of the match and it's shown to Long, who hacks down Milner from behind, leaving the referee with no choice but to show a card.
This would have been a big call for the referee to make. As a long ball was pumped forward, Bertrand got back ahead of Aguero to cut it out, but it appeared to hit him on the arm. The fans certainly appealed for it, but the referee was in no position to see that clearly and it would have been harsh to give anything.
City are really piling on the pressure at the moment and Silva shows his class once again by weaving into the box and firing in a low cross. Mangala is the closest to getting there, but it is just out of his reach and Southampton manage to clear.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Southampton (Frank Lampard)
This was surely in the script wasn't it! On his last Premier League appearance, Lampard finds the net to give City the lead. It's a trademark goal from the midfielder, as he makes a fine run into the box meet Milner's low cross, before directing a first-time strike past Davis.
CHANCE! City have only just scored, but they really should be two goals up here. Aguero breaks free of the defence and finds himself clean through on goal, but Davis is there to block his strike. It is turning into quite some duel between those two, with the keeper on top so far.
It may have taken a while to get going, but this game is turning into a decent watch. City are playing some great stuff and look like scoring every time they come forward, but there is still the threat of Southampton on the counter attack.
SAVE! Aguero must be sick of the sight of Davis, as the keeper denies him again. Toure is the creator with a lung-busting run that picks out Aguero in the box. The Argentine then sees his effort take a touch of Alderweireld and it looks headed for the top corner until Davies dives across at full stretch to tip the ball behind.
It does appear that City will hold onto their lead going into the break and they have certainly had chances to add to it. The only surprise is that Aguero hasn't scored and I'm sure that he will be determined to put that right.
CHANCE! Well, Southampton very nearly draw level out of the blue on the stroke of half time. City struggle to clear the ball and it drops kindly to Pelle on the edge of the box. The Italian then lashes in a strike, but he directs it wide of the post, with Hart left rooted to the spot.
There will be just one minute added on to the end of this first half.
HALF-TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Southampton
It's all going to plan for Manchester City and they lead Southampton at the break. Frank Lampard has found the net with a dream goal on his last appearance in English football, while Sergio Aguero has had two or three very good chances to add a second, in a dominant display from the Citizens.
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So, City have been in control so far and they saw 60% of the possession in the opening 45 minutes. They have also managed eight attempts on goal, compared to four from their opponents and have looked far more dangerous in the final third.
What a day it is turing out to be for Frank Lampard. The midfielder has scored his 177th goal in what is his 609th Premier League match. His teammate Augero has not had as much luck, but the Argentine will still win the Golden Boot, as his tally of 25 strikes this season is four better than Tottenham's Harry Kane.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Hull are on the verge of being relegated, as they are goalless against Manchester United. A win would keep them up, as Newcastle are currently scoreless against West Ham. FA Cup finalists Arsenal are 4-0 up against West Brom, with Theo Walcott bagging a hat-trick, while Liverpool are being hammered 5-0 by Stoke, in what is Steven Gerrard's final match for the club.
Manchester City take the kick off and get the second half started!
SHOT! Barely 30 seconds into the second half Southampton almost craft a leveller. Pelle is picked out in the middle, but the ball is slightly behind him so he looks to improvise with a flick that he ends up sending over the bar.
It's been a good start to the half by Southampton, who are seeing a lot of the ball. There is still the chance for them to finish in the top six, with Liverpool unlikely to come back and beat Stoke.
Pelle his the outside of the post for Southampton after meeting a low cross Bertrand, but he was standing a couple of yards offside and the flag is correctly raised against him. It's still a good sign from the visitors who are looking very threatening at the moment.
Once again the flag goes up against Pelle when he gets in behind and drives a low cross to the back post for Mane. He was clearly in an offside position, with the City defence holding a very solid line.
CHANCE! City are starting to click back into top gear and a wonderful flowing move almost leads to a second goal. Following some neat interchange between Toure and Aguero, the ball is fed wide to Milner, who then whips a cross to the back post that is met by Lampard, but his header is held by Davis.
SUBSTITUTION: The Saints are making their first change of the match, with Djuricic replacing Ward-Prowse.
It's becoming a bit of a theme now, as Pelle is again caught offside. He was just slightly beyond the last man this time, but the Italian needs to time his runs better as that must be the fourth or fifth flag against him since half time.
Southampton haven't made the most of set piece occasions this afternoon and they see another corner easily cleared by the City defence. They have certainly had their chances, but the clinical finishing touch is just missing at the moment.
SUBSTITUTION: City are making a change and it's Toure who heads off to be replaced by Bony. Will that be the last time that we see him at this ground?
SHOT! Half a chance for Long, as the ball deflects kindly to him just outside the box. He then looks to place a low strike into the far corner, but he doesn't get any power on the shot and the ball goes comfortably through to Hart.
We haven't seen too much from City in the second half, but they still have the players capable of making the difference in a second. One of those is Silva, who picks the ball up 20 yards out from goal and looks to bend a shot into the top corner. However, this time the Spaniard gets it all wrong and blazes the ball well wide of the target.
CHANCES! Southampton create a couple of decent openings to score in the space of a minute. Firstly, Mane is unable to get enough power on his back-post header to beat Hart, before Long bursts into the box and drills in a low strike that is again saved by the keeper.
City have a bit of problem here, as Milner is down and receiving treatment after being caught by Pelle. City were about to make a change anyway, so that could be the end of the season for the midfielder and quite possibly the end of his career at the club.
SUBSTITUTION: It's a change for the Saints, with Elia coming on for Davis.
SUBSTITUTION: City are also making a change and Lampard is heading off the pitch to a standing ovation from all of the supporters. He is replaced by Navas and it looks like his goal will be the winner this afternoon.
SUBSTITUTION: Milner is now making his way off for City to be replaced by Kompany and he also receives a warm applause from the fans. He gives them a wave too that seems to signal that it will be his last game for the club.
SHOT! This is quite some effort from Bony. The ball is played into the striker 25 yards out from goal and with little backlift he hammers an effort goalwards. It ends up heading over the bar, but it was a very good attempt.
SAVE! Aguero is still looking for a goal and he shows great skill in the box to control a corner and twist onto his left foot. He then drills in a low strike towards the near post, but Davis is there again to block with his feet.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Southampton (Sergio Aguero)
He's been unable to find the net all afternoon, but Aguero finally scores to end the season on a high. It's probably the most simple goal he will ever score, as he is on hand at the back post to nod home Mangala's header from just a couple of yards out.
There are going to be three minutes of stoppage time.
Southampton have just had no luck with the linesman this afternoon and they are caught offside once again. It wasn't Pelle this time though, as Long was the man flagged against after firing a cross over at the back post.
FULL-TIME: Manchester City 2-0 Southampton
It's all over at the Etihad and Manchester City have ended their season with a sixth-straight Premier League victory. Frank Lampard and Sergio Auguero scored in each half to ensure a positive finish for last year's champions, but it means that Southampton will now be sweating on their hopes of a Europa League spot.
I'm afraid that's all for our coverage today and indeed the Premier League season. There have been some fantastic moments and we look forward to bringing you more live action when it kicks off again in August. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
