Fitzgerald Cecilio

London, England

Jason Puncheon and Steven Davis scored in the first half as Southampton dealt Manchester City's hopes of defending the Barclays Premier League crown a serious blow with a 3-1 victory Saturday at St. Mary's Stadium.

The Saints raced to a two-goal lead in the first half as Puncheon and Davis scored in the seventh and 22nd minute, respectively.

Then, an own goal by Gareth Barry in the 48th minute after a score by Edin Dzeko late in the first half secured Southampton's victory.

The defeat leaves Roberto Mancini's side nine points behind Manchester United, which will try to stretch its lead to 12 points with a victory over Everton at Old Trafford Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Chelsea regained third place with a 4-1 victory over Wigan, thanks to goals from Ramires, Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard and Marko Marin.

With the victory, Chelsea is now one point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, which defeated Newcastle United, 2-1, behind two goals from Gareth Bale.

Chelsea now has 49 points, just four back of Manchester City, while the Spurs have 48 points.

Ramires gave Chelsea the lead halfway through the first half with a goal in the 23rd minute before Hazard, who returned from a three-game suspension, doubled the lead by converting Cesar Azpilicueta's cross in the 56th minute.

Wigan trimmed the lead to one behind Shaun Maloney's score but Frank Lampard got his 11th league goal of the season and Marin got his first for the club in injury-time.

In other games, Michu scored two goals to lift Swansea City to a 4-1 win over Queens Park Rangers while ten-man Arsenal held on to beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.

Stoke City returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Reading while Fulham and Norwich City played a goalless draw.