Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City made light work of Southampton in the EFL Cup, the holders easing into the quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Reeling from their 9-0 trouncing at the hands of Leicester City last Friday, Southampton - in their first of two outings against City in the space of four days - were little match for Pep Guardiola's side.
Nicolas Otamendi and Aguero had City comfortably in control by half-time, with the latter on hand to nudge City further ahead 11 minutes after the restart.
Two stops in quick succession from Claudio Bravo looked to have ended Southampton's hopes of a consolation, but Jack Stephens headed in with 15 minutes remaining to ensure Ralph Hasenhuttl's side restored some pride.
Southampton went behind after 10 minutes against Leicester, though they did manage to hold on for slightly longer on Tuesday.
However, having already kept Angelino at bay, Alex McCarthy could do little to deny Otamendi the opener in the 20th minute - City's centre-back rising between Jan Bednarek and Oriol Romeu to head home.
Aguero should have done better to get a close-range free-kick on target shortly after the half-hour, but he made no mistake when he tucked in from Kyle Walker's cross at the culmination of a slick team move.
City soon had their third early in the second half - Aguero reacting sharply to turn in Riyad Mahrez's deflected shot moments after McCarthy had kept out Bernardo Silva's prod.
Bednarek made an outstanding block from Mahrez's close-range effort, before Bravo was finally called into action to keep out a Sofiane Boufal strike.
While the former Barcelona goalkeeper could not deny Stephens to preserve his clean sheet, City still comfortably claimed a first win over their opponents in the competition.
City well in the hunt for three on the bounce
Winning the EFL Cup has acted as a springboard for dominant City to go on and clinch further titles in previous seasons.
With two of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool set to head out on Wednesday, Guardiola's men look well poised to go on and retain their crown once again this term.
