Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has leapt to the defence of Sergio Aguero, insisting that his striker "never tried to cheat the referee" in this afternoon's encounter against Southampton.

The in-form Argentina international went down in the first half of the Citizens' 3-0 victory at St Mary's Stadium having appeared to be challenged by Jose Fonte inside the box.

However, shouts for a penalty were quickly waved away by referee Mike Jones, who incensed Aguero further by issuing him with a yellow card for diving.

Speaking after the game, Pellegrini is quoted by talkSPORT as saying: "I didn't want to say it was a penalty [during the game] but when I saw it after, it was a clear penalty.

"What I am absolutely sure about is that Sergio never dived and he never tried to cheat the referee. He fell down in that way because it was an important kick [from Fonte]."

Today's win was enough for City to leapfrog the Saints into second place in the Premier League table.