Man City 3-1 Southampton: Back to the top

Kevin de Bruyne was the star of the show in the win over Southampton with the opening goal and two assists.

Man City got back on track thanks to De Bruyne's brilliance. Photo: Reuters.

The Man City board can probably hear every dollar of the 85 million spent on Kevin de Bruyne flying back into their pockets. The Belgian talent keeps scoring and creating as if he is proving worth every penny spent.

Against a tough opponent like Southampton, Kevin de Bruyne forced the visitors to accept their first away defeat in the Premier League this season. The 24-year-old midfielder scored the opening goal before assisting Fabian Delph and Kolarov. Southampton had a goal back from Shane Long early in the second half but it was not enough to turn the game around.

Man City took the top spot from Leicester after the team drew with Man Utd in round 14. The only team that can take the top spot from Man City after this round is Arsenal, but in case the "Gunners" beat Norwich with a difference of more than four goals.

After two consecutive defeats against big rivals Liverpool and Juventus, Man City knew how to return to winning ways against Southampton. Coach Pellegrini's students opened the scoring with two goals in just the first 20 minutes.

Sterling broke into the box before crossing for De Bruyne to easily tap the ball in close range. Then it was Fabian Delph's turn to shoot from distance, deflecting Virgil van Dijk and defeating the Southampton goalkeeper. Before that, the person who took the corner kick that sent the ball to Delph's feet was De Bruyne.

Shane Long reduced the gap for Southampton in the 49th minute but De Bruyne once again ended the visitors' hopes with a clever pass for Kolarov to score.

At the Etihad Stadium, De Bruyne has scored and assisted nine goals in six Premier League games. Since the start of the 2014-2015 season, De Bruyne has been the top passer in Europe's top five leagues with 26 assists.

According to VNE