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SOUTHAMPTON. — Champions Manchester City climbed up to second in the English Premier League soccer table with an easy 3-0 victory over high-flying Southampton at St Mary’s yesterday. City felt they should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Sergio Aguero in a goalless first half, but Yaya Toure put them in front at the start of the second period.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men when Eliaquim Mangala was sent off for a second bookable offence with 15 minutes remaining, but substitute Frank Lampard eased City’s nerves with a clinical strike before Gael Clichy added a third late on.

Victory for City moved them above Southampton with 27 points from 13 games, while Southampton are a point behind.

The champions claimed all three points despite Mangala’s dismissal for a foul on substitute Shane Long.

However, second-half goals by Yaya Toure, Lampard and left-back Clichy allowed the north-west outfit to cut the gap on Chelsea at the top of the table to just six points after the Blues were held to a goalless at Sunderland on Saturday.

Despite the first half ending goalless, the visitors would have been aggrieved not to have led at the break after in-form striker Aguero was brought down in the box by Jose Fonte just nine minutes in, only for referee Mike Jones to book the Argentinian for “diving” for some unknown reason. Both sides also had great chances to break the deadlock in an evenly contested opening 45 minutes, but firstly Saints frontman Graziano Pelle failed to beat City keeper Joe Hart from just six yards out.

And then when City forward Stevan Jovetic was played through on goal on the half-hour mark, Saints No. 1 Fraser Forster half kept the Serb’’s effort out, before centre-back Toby Alderweireld produced a last-gasp goal-line clearance to complete the job, and keep the scoreline level at half-time.

However, Saints head coach Ronald Koeman was forced to make an enforced switch at the break after Morgan Schneiderlin picked up a calf injury in the first period, with the Dutchman opting to move Toby Alderweireld forward from his position at the heart of the Southampton back four into a holding midfield role.

City, though, were the team to score the crucial first goal after man-of-the-match Aguero pulled the ball back for the onrushing Yaya Toure to fire home through a crowd of players from the edge of the penalty area.

And while the powerful Ivorian’s 51st-minute opener may have taken a slight deflection off Alderweireld before flying past a helpless Forster, the home team could have no such complaints when City doubled their lead with only 10 minutes remaining on the south coast.

By that point of the match, Mangala had already received his marching orders for hauling down Long as the Republic of Ireland international ran through on goal, with spaces suddenly created for City’s forward-thinking players to exploit on the counter-attack.

And that is exactly what happened late on as the hardworking Aguero found Lampard with time and space on the edge of the Saints box, before the veteran midfielder fired low into the corner of the net past a flat-footed Forster.

Meanwhile, Clichy added a slightly flattering third after 88 minutes when that man Aguero again unselfishly picked out his unmarked team-mate at the back post, with the Frenchman scoring his first-ever goal for the club with a simple finish. — AFP.