Southampton have picked up their first win of the Premier League campaign, with goals from Rickie Lambert, Nathaniel Clyne and Jason Puncheon giving them a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.

The Saints threatened the Villa goal in the opening stages, with chances falling to Lambert and Steven Davis, neither of whom could find the target.

Nigel Adkins's side had the better of the early possession, but fell behind when Darren Bent took advantage of poor defending to score his first Premier League goal since February.

Bent could have doubled his and Villa's tally for the afternoon shortly after the break, but Saints keeper Paulo Gazzaniga turned his shot aside for a corner.

Southampton upped the tempo after that, and drew level through Lambert's third goal of the season on 58 minutes. The striker found the top corner from the edge of the area after being lined up by Adam Lallana.

The hosts took the lead just after the hour mark. Gaston Ramirez provided the pass for Clyne to slide in from close range.

Buoyed by the prospect of picking up their first Premier League points of the season, Adkins's men continued to press, and extended their lead on 72 minutes when Puncheon bundled home a Lambert cross.

There was some dispute over whether Villa's Ciaran Clark got the final touch on the Saints' third goal, but Puncheon claimed it nonetheless.

It was a dominant second-half performance from Southampton, who completed their rout courtesy of a Lambert penalty deep into stoppage time.