Raheem Sterling scored twice fresh from agreeing a new five-year contract with Manchester City as the champions swept aside Southampton 6-1 on Sunday to return to the top of the Premier League table. Sergio Aguero, with his 150th league goal, David Silva and Leroy Sane were also on the mark as Pep Guardiola's side continued their unbeaten start to their title defence.
"We played excellent, without and especially with the ball," Guardiola told the BBC as he insisted there was more to come from England international Sterling. "He is more mature now than he was when we first met at the club...He is 23 and he can be a better player."
Southampton had the minor consolation of becoming the first team in 630 minutes to score against City but the leaders' form is ominous for the rest of the division. City are scoring at a marginally faster rate than they did while racking up a record 106 goals last season, and they made a devastating start at the Etihad that finished the game as a contest within 18 minutes of kick-off.
Five minutes had gone when Aguero orchestrated an attack on the edge of the Southampton area, David Siva then moving the ball on to the overlapping Sane, whose cross was turned into his own goal by Saints' Wesley Hoedt. It took a further six minutes for City to double the lead, Bernardo Silva setting free Sterling on the right and the England forward selflessly squaring for Aguero to hammer in from close range.