Manchester City v Southampton player ratings: De Bruyne, Mahrez and Foden fantastic as Saints defenders suffer

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6, Made some good saves throughout the game, with it taking an effort from the penalty spot and fortuitous drop of the ball to beat him. Some of his passing was a bit off. EPA

Kyle Walker - 6, Defended fairly well and played a good pass into Foden in the lead up to City’s fifth of the game. EPA

Ruben Dias - 6, Played a good pass in the build-up to the opener and looked typically authoritative in a lot of his defending. EPA

Aymeric Laporte - 4, Looked shaky at times and pulled Jannik Vestergaard to concede the penalty for Southampton’s goal, while he could have been a bit more decisive for the away side’s second. Reuters

Oleksandr Zinchenko - 6, Made good runs forward, one of which played a part in the opener, but got away with giving the ball away in a dangerous area. Reuters

Kevin De Bruyne - 9, Scored the opener against the run of play, linked up play nicely in the build-up for the home side’s third and then scored their fifth nicely. EPA

Fernandinho - 6, It was another reliable performance from the Brazilian, who was as combative as ever. Booked for a foul on Nathan Tella. Reuters

Ilkay Gundogan - 7, Had stages where he faded out of the game, but the German scored City’s third with an instinctive finish – displaying his anticipation. EPA

Phil Foden - 9, It was a busy performance from the 20-year-old. His shot being saved lead to the opener, while he got the assist for City’s fourth and fifth. He could have even had a penalty. AFP

Bernardo Silva - 6, Looked composed no matter the situation and moved the ball well, but one of his touches lead to Southampton getting their second. Came so close to getting a ball of his own. AFP

Riyad Mahrez - 9, The Algerian was such a threat. Scored with a great strike from outside the box, then his good footwork and effort going off the post lead to the third, before he scored another of his own. EPA

SUB: SUB Ferran Torres (Mahrez 61’) - 4, Missed a great chance and struggled to make much of an impact – though Mahrez was a tough act to follow. Reuters

SUB: Sergio Aguero (De Bruyne 72’) – N/R, Got a fairly good effort off but there were definitely - and understandably - signs that he was a bit rusty. AFP

SUB: Benjamin Mendy (Zinchenko 81’) – N/R, Put in a good performance and didn’t look stretched at all defensively. AFP

SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Alex McCarthy - 5, Was unlucky for the opener, but he was repaid by getting away with one after a poor touch almost lead to him giving away a penalty. Had no chance for the other goals. Reuters

Ryan Bertrand - 6, Very willing to get forward and defended resolutely. While there will be questions asked about his involvement in the opener, Bertrand had little chance having been put in a two-on-one situation. EPA

Jan Bednarek - 5, Showed intelligence in some of his defending, but won’t want to watch himself being nutmegged for the fifth again. EPA

Jannik Vestergaard - 6, Won Southampton’s penalty but there were times where the defender was caught ball-watching and showed a lack of awareness. Reuters

Mohammed Salisu -5, Started well but struggled when Mahrez really got going and got away with sloppy play in his box, when Torres missed an easy chance. AFP

James Ward-Prowse - 7, Converted confidently from the penalty spot, tested Ederson from range and was often seen directing his teammates off the ball. Reuters

Jack Stephens - 5, Playing in midfield, Stephens worked well defensively but looked out of place at times when trying to make things happen on the ball. AFP

Stuart Armstrong - 5, Should have tracked back much better for the opener and struggled to really test Zinchenko for large periods. Reuters

Moussa Djenepo - 6, Showed brilliant discipline and work rate to help out defensively, but will likely be disappointed about missing the chance that presented itself to him in the first half. EPA

Nathan Redmond - 7, Southampton’s biggest threat from open play and provided a nice touch for Adams’ goal. Also forced a decent save from Ederson. Reuters

Che Adams - 6, His shocking attempt to pass the ball across the pitch lead to Mahrez’s goal, but he’ll feel a bit better after he got a goal of his own. Saw a good strike chalked off for offside. AFP

SUB: Nathan Tella (Djenepo HT) - 6, Fought throughout his time on the pitch and showed flashes of quality on the ball. Reuters

SUB: Ibrahima Diallo (Stephens 63’) - 6, Passed the ball neatly and did well in his defensive game. AFP

SUB: Caleb Watts (Armstrong 73’) – N/R, Got minutes under his belt against top opposition and gave a decent account of himself. AFP

Leaders Manchester City showed that their weekend derby loss was a blip as Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice in a 5-2 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday.

City's 21-match winning streak in all competitions was interrupted by a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United but normal service was quickly resumed at the Etihad Stadium as they opened up a 14-point gap at the top.

After a slow start City went ahead with their first attack when De Bruyne pounced to convert a rebound in 15th minute, only for James Ward-Prowse to equalise from the penalty spot.

Mahrez restored City's lead and Ilkay Gundogan made it 3-1 in first-half stoppage time before Mahrez produced another clinical finish 10 minutes after the interval.

Che Adams replied for an adventurous Southampton but De Bruyne grabbed his second of the night shortly afterwards as City looked like scoring every time they attacked.

City have 68 points from 29 games with Manchester United on 54 from one game fewer.

Southampton, who played impressive football at times, have 33 points from 28 games and are only seven points above the relegation zone after a ninth defeat in 11 games.