Manchester City recovered from two defeats in a week to overcome Southampton 3-1 in their Premier League clash this afternoon and go top of the table.

Manchester City's Serbian defender Aleksandar Kolarov (R) celebrates with Manchester City's English midfielder Fabian Delph after scoring during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Southampton at The Etihad stadium in Man © Getty Images

City were dominant for much of the first half, and came close to taking an early lead when Yaya Toure played in Raheem Sterling for a volley, only for Southampton keeper Maarten Stekelenburg to deny the former Liverpool man.

The hosts took a deserved lead after just nine minutes, as Sterling won the ball off Maya Yoshida, before teeing up Kevin De Bruyne for a tap-in.

Southampton failed to respond to their opponents' opener, and conceded a second goal on 20 minutes through Fabian Delph, who found the net from the edge of the penalty area via a Virgil van Dijk deflection.

The visitors improved after Delph's goal, and were unfortunate not to pull one back three minutes later as Van Dijk struck the crossbar from 25 yards out, before James Ward-Prowse missed the target with a free kick.

Both sides could have added to the scoreline before half time, as Sterling blazed an effort over the bar from close range, while City keeper Willy Caballero denied Shane Long at the other end of the pitch.

Ronald Koeman's side took control of proceedings after the break, and found a way back into the game on 50 minutes as Long met a Sadio Mane cross with a powerful header.

The visitors missed a good chance to equalise on the hour mark when James Ward-Prowse found Dusan Tadic for a one-on-one opportunity, but Caballero made himself big to deny the Serbian midfielder.

City regained control of the match soon after - buoyed by another Caballero save to deny Tadic - and added a third goal on 70 minutes when De Bruyne found an unmarked Kolarov, who fired past Stekelenburg.

Wilfried Bony could have added a fourth for the hosts before the final whistle, as the Ivorian fired over from a De Bruyne cross, but the linesman had already flagged for offside.