A spirited second half display wasn’t enough for Ronald Koeman’s Southampton as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat away at Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
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It was also a welcome back for David Silva, who made his first appearance for City since he suffered a leg injury during global duty in October with Spain.
Aguero is expected to return to the starting 11, but even if he plays from the first minute, it is unlikely for him to play the entire match. “He receives a kick in his heel but it was nothing important”.
Aguero was grimacing as he walked down the tunnel but Pellegrini added: “He has played three games in a row and that’s why he came off. We will see tomorrow but I don’t think it was anything important”. “It’s hopefully nothing serious”. Newcastle has conceded at least three goals in four of its last seven matches, piling the pressure on its manager Steve McClaren following reports this week that he was involved in a training-ground bust-up with some players.
City finally breached Southampton’s defence inside the ninth minute as Maya Yoshida was caught in possession by winger Sterling who burst down the left and fed a wonderful ball across the box for De Bruyne who duly obliged with a sweeping finish into the Southampton goal.
Having picked up just one point from six in the Premier League, Pellegrini was relieved to watch his side get back to winning ways, admitting that the victory was crucial for their confidence as well as for the points.
Manchester City’s Aleksandar Kolarov celebrates after scoring during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Southampton at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday Nov. 28, 2015. City dominated the first half and could have extended its lead, before Southampton threatened a comeback after the break as Shane Long to pulled one back in the 50th.
As the rain poured down, Southampton were forced to repel wave after wave of City attacks before De Bruyne opened the scoring on nine minutes. “You must have trust in your work, that’s very important”. In addition to key players that are sidelined, there are more than a handful doubtful ahead of this fixture.
“We didn’t play that much together, and maybe two [games] but he’s such a great player that it’s easy to play together with him”, he said.
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Southampton, whose last defeat away from home in the Premier League had come at City on the final day of last season, threatened again through Tadic, whose low shot was pushed away by Caballero.
