Mauricio Pochettino claimed his first win as Southampton manager thanks to a 3-1 victory over Manchester City this evening.
His side took an early 2-0 lead through Jason Puncheon and Steven Davis, but Edin Dzeko saw that the advantage was halved before the break when he scored for City.
However, an own goal shortly after the restart by Gareth Barry sealed all three points for the Saints.
Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the action to determine if Southampton were good value for the win.
Match statistics:
Southampton:
Shots 13
On target 7
Possession 51%
Corners 6
Fouls 9
Man City:
Shots 7
On target 4
Possession 49%
Corners 6
Fouls 13
Was the result fair?
Yes! As simple as that. Sometimes when a top side like City are beaten, you can put it down to the fact that the other side rode their luck and battled hard. That wasn't the case at all today. The Saints were the better of the two teams from the very start and claimed the goals that their performance warranted.
Southampton's performance
Whether Southampton have performed better than that this season can be debated. However, what cannot be argued is the fact that this was their finest outing since Pochettino took charge. His side got at City from the first whistle and refused to let them settle. It wasn't all about defending either, because they attacked with style and in the closing stages could have added one or two more to their tally.
Man City's performance
When City required a big display, the majority of their squad failed to produce. From the word go they were wasteful in possession and when they did get in the final third, they looked a little clueless. The decision to allow Mario Balotelli to leave without bringing in a replacement is also looking not so shrewd. With Carlos Tevez out because of family problems, there was nobody on the bench capable of swinging the game in City's favour.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jack Cork: The former Chelsea midfielder will not grab the headlines because he didn't score any of the goals, but his performance made the win possible for Southampton tonight. He got about the likes of Yaya Toure and Barry and refused to let them settle on the ball. Having regained possession, he then consistently picked out his teammates with a range of passes.
Biggest gaffe
It would have taken something truly awful to prevent Joe Hart from taking this award after his howler during the first half. Step forward Barry, who scored one of the strangest own goals you are likely to see. Instead of clearing the ball into touch, he sent the ball into the bottom corner of his own net from six yards out when there was no immediate pressure on him.
Referee performance
A largely quiet evening for Martin Atkinson, although he refused to give Southampton a penalty at the end of the first half when many other officials would have awarded one. Apart from that, he only got his yellow card out when it was necessary and communicated well with the players.
What next?
Southampton: The Saints have a break next weekend because they are no longer in the FA Cup. They will return to action in a fortnight when they travel up to Newcastle.
Man City: However, City are still in the FA Cup and will play host to Championship side Leeds United next weekend.
Liam Apicella
