Southampton had to come from behind in the first half to pull a deserved 2-1 victory in their midweek encounter with Chelsea.
This was the Saints’ second win of the fledgling Premier League season and it means they move above a Chelsea side that was lacking in cohesion and cutting edge at St Mary’s all night.
The Blues’ top scorer Raheem Sterling got Thomas Tuchel’s side off to a promising start with his third goal in two games with a fine finish in the 23rd minute but another former Manchester City player Romeo Lavia fired a superb ball in beyond Edouard Mendy moments later after Chelsea failed to properly clear their lines from a corner.
Southampton rose in confidence immediately and were the better side eventually scoring what proved to be the winner before the break, when Romain Perraud picked out Adam Armstrong whose effort inside the danger area deflected off Kalidou Koulibaly and into the net.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s did have now climbed to seventh as a result of the victory, level on seven points with Chelsea but above them on goals scored.