Man City back in old routine as Nasri caps fightback

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Manchester City launched their Premier League title defence in familiar fashion as the champions came from behind to beat Southampton 3-2 thanks to Samir Nasri's late winner at Eastlands on Sunday.

After an early missed penalty from David Silva, the champions appeared to be on course for another home victory thanks to a goal just before the interval from Carlos Tevez, only for Southampton substitutes Rickie Lambert and Steven Davis to each score within minutes of their introductions.

That sparked a frantic finale which brought back memories of the final day of last season when City scored twice in stoppage-time to beat QPR and win the English title for the first time in 44 years.

They didn't leave it quite that late this time as Edin Dzeko equalised with 18 minutes remaining before France midfielder Nasri struck 10 minutes from full-time to preserve City's unbeaten home run, which now dates back to December 2010.