Manchester City beat Southampton as Frank Lampard scores on farewell

Frank Lampard celebrates putting Manchester City 1-0 up against Southampton with Kelvin Davis on his knees.

Frank Lampard ended his near two decades in English football in predictable fashion, with a goal and a victory that helped ensure Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City sail off into the close-season sunset in far more optimistic mood than once appeared likely.

Six consecutive victories have left Pellegrini in a solid second place in the Premier League and suitably bullish about his short-term job prospects, the manager becoming increasingly outspoken in recent days in response to those who question the security of his position.

But even allowing for that fact, and the long-known departure of Lampard, this will undoubtedly be a summer of upheaval for last season’s champions, not least with Uefa looking increasingly likely to loosen the shackles of financial fair play. And, as City supporters paid a dutiful, and fond, farewell to one of Chelsea’s most famous sons, it was the future of two of Lampard’s midfield team-mates that offered greater cause for concern.

James Milner is yet to accept the offer of a new contract and may well use his free agent status to move to a club that can offer more regular first-team starts, and Yaya Touré has begun his annual flirtation with the transfer market via the unsubtle declarations of his agent.

All three were brought off by Pellegrini, although the City manager insisted that Touré and Milner were substituted for physical, not sentimental, reasons and he expects clarity soon over their futures.

“We will see, not only with those two names, who will stay here,” he said. “James said he would take a decision at the end of the season and it just depends on what he wants to do with his future. We must respect that. He is a very important player and gave us a lot of spirit the whole year but he must decide his future.”

Pellegrini looks far more likely to return than either of his midfielders. The sequence of wins has ended the season with a statement of intent, even if it was a case of far too little too late in their attempts to retain their title. The chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, was here, although Pellegrini remained relaxed about the prospect of the end-of-season review that Mubarak’s presence suggested may have taken place on Sunday night. “I’m always talking with Khaldoon every week,” said the City manager. “I don’t need a special meeting with Khaldoon. But of course when you finish the season you must analyse what we did, where we made mistakes, where we must improve, but we have very good communication.”

Lampard struck just after the half-hour to ensure that Pellegrini had a comfortable enough conversation with his employer after David Silva had found Milner on the right and the England midfielder’s low cross picked out the unmarked veteran for an unstoppable eight-yard finish.

With Southampton impressing until the end, the victory was not secured until the 88th minute when a deflected Jesús Navas shot was headed across goal by Eliaquim Mangala for Sergio Agüero to nod in the 26th goal of his Golden Boot-winning season.

“I spoke before the game with the whole squad and said it was important to finish the season here with a win in front of our own fans,” said Pellegrini. “But it was also important for Frank. It was the perfect afternoon, the perfect goodbye for him and he deserves it, for his brilliant career, and the fact he is a great person.”

For Southampton’s manager, Ronald Koeman, the season will not be over until Saturday’s FA Cup final when an Arsenal victory would assure his team of a place in the Europa League. “If we get the chance to play in Europe, I would like that because it means a lot for the club, a lot for the players,” he said. “We are preparing our pre-season and next week we will know if we have two qualifying games before the Premier League starts. We did a great job this season, the players showed their qualities, the spirit in the team was amazing. Even today, we tried to play attractive, offensive football and if we finish seventh, that’s our title – behind the big six clubs in the Premier League.”