Two goals from Dusan Tadic have helped Southampton record a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa to move within one point of seventh-placed Liverpool in the Premier League table.
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Shane Long had already hit the crossbar before he eventually gave Southampton the lead after 15 minutes, with the Irishman beating Joleon Lescott to the ball to head home a cross from Ryan Bertrand.
Villa could have equalised through Leandro Bacuna, who headed wide from an Ashley Westwood cross, but the home side were fortunate to remain just the one goal behind when Virgil van Dijk struck the post after a corner caused confusion inside the penalty area.
However, six minutes before the break, the Saints did double their advantage when a poor backpass from Bacuna allowed Long to move towards goal and play in Tadic, who had the simple task of converting into an empty net.
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The goal saw many Villa supporters head for the exits but in added-on time in the first half, Westwood found the bottom corner of Fraser Forster's net after connecting with a loose ball at the back post.
The West Midlands outfit had the momentum when they came back out for the restart, but it was Southampton who pushed forward for a third with Long, Steven Davis and Jay Rodriguez all having shots saved by Brad Guzan within the space of five minutes.
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Villa substitute Rudy Gestede almost made the visitors pay when meeting a cross but after his header cleared the bar, Southampton went down the other end and looked to have put the result beyond doubt.
After receiving a pass from Long, who enjoyed an excellent game at Villa Park, Tadic found the bottom corner from 20 yards for his eighth goal of the season.
However, with five minutes remaining, Westwood netted his second of the match with a low drive into the bottom corner from 18 yards, and it gave his team hope of salvaging a point during the closing stages.
They were unable to force an equaliser, however, and deep into added-on time, Sadio Mane netted a fourth for the Saints to help them close the gap on the teams above them as they target a late bid for a Europa League spot.
Darren Plant
