3 takeaways from Manchester City's morale-boosting win vs. Southampton

Recent losses to Liverpool and Juventus led to concerns about Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City squad and its claims for silverware this term. A 3-1 dismissal of Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday has briefly silenced the naysayers.

A header from Shane Long cut Southampton's deficit to one following Kevin De Bruyne's and Fabian Delph's first-half efforts, but left-back Aleksandr Kolarov wrapped up the points with a smash on 70 minutes.

Here are three takeaways from City's defeat of the Saints:

City look left rather than right

We're getting to that time of year when Christian folk take particular offence at the use of the Lord's name in vain.

City fans are at a disadvantage, as Jesus Navas is by far the most frustrating man in Pellegrini's squad. The Spaniard chops so many daisy cutters from the right flank that the groundsman should give him a portion of his paycheque for helping with the upkeep.

It was with great relief, for both the team's hopes and the cleanliness of its supporters' souls, that Navas sat out the visit of Southampton, and City focused on exploiting the hapless Maya Yoshida with Raheem Sterling instead.

It didn't take long to show up Yoshida, who was playing out of position at right-back, and who inexplicably tried to take the ball around Sterling and out of his defensive third. No such luck, as his feet got caught up and allowed the English speedster to nick it, make his way into the box and then cut it back to De Bruyne. The Belgian's task was easy from three yards.

Tadic should be on from the start

Ronald Koeman should start Dusan Tadic every game, home and away.

The Serb brings unpredictably to the Saints' ranks and also balance for when Sadio Mane is operating on the opposite flank. His pace and dribbling troubled the City backline on a few occasions after he entered for the second half. Even if he seems anonymous for significant spells, he is capable of suddenly breaking the offside trap or laying on an opportunity for one of his teammates.

Seven assists and four goals in 24 starts in the 2014-15 season - his debut Premier League campaign - suggests as much.

Questions continue to lie with Demichelis

Martin Demichelis had a tough time at the start of his Manchester City career, but eventually turned back the clock with form reminiscent of his days at the height of his powers with Bayern Munich.

Unfortunately for his loyal gaffer Pellegrini, the 34-year-old's physicality now appears to be waning for good.

The Argentinian centre-half was caught flat-footed when Shane Long rose above him to nod the Saints within one goal of City on 50 minutes, and shortly afterwards allowed Tadic to saunter past him and into the box with incredible ease.

Other players are culpable when City switch off defensively. Bacary Sagna could have also stepped up during Tadic's foray into the area. Sterling simply wasn't concentrating when Mane ran onto the quick free kick leading up to Long's header. Nicolas Otamendi has improved dramatically since an inauspicious beginning in Manchester, but occasionally looks too keen to go to ground and produce a bruising tackle rather than just poking a toe at the ball.

This City side is still far from the finished product, and with its aging legion it could be a few years off, but the Eastlands outfit is still the favourite to take the title with the British bookmakers.