Aston Villa enjoyed a 1-0 win at St Mary’s after Southampton had two VAR decisions go against them.
Ross Barkley was the visitors’ matchwinner – scoring the only goal of the game on 41 minutes with a header against the run of play.
Before kick-off Southampton welcomed back Oriol Romeu, Nathan Redmond and Ryan Bertrand into the side after not starting in the 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal on Tuesday, replacing Yan Valery, Che Adams and Jake Vokins as they looked to redeem themselves.
Aston Villa also came into the game off the back of a defeat by Burnley on Wednesday and with only one win in their last five league games.
The away team made no changes and started the day 10th in the table with 29 points while Southampton were on the same number of point and sat one place below.
Aston Villa came close to opening the scoring at the start of the game as striker Ollie Watkins was played into the box but dragged his shot wide of the post after some good defending.
Two minutes later Southampton saw a big decision go against them after their penalty appeal was rejected following a review by the video assistant referee.
Danny Ings flicked the ball over his head on the by-line before playing it across to Stuart Armstrong who hit his shot first time. Matty Cash made the block with the ball hitting his outstretched arm, but VAR saw no wrongdoing and play was continued.
Against the run of play Barkley put Villa ahead in the 41st minute when Jack Grealish crossed the ball on the half-volley and Barkley headed powerfully into the bottom corner giving goalkeeper Alex McCarthy no chance and giving villa the lead as they went in for half-time.
With a tame start to the second-half a big chance fell to Che Adams in the 71st minute who saw himself break through the Villa back line only to shoot straight at goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez who saved low to his left.
John McGinn was then played through on the halfway line with only Moussa Djenepo to beat but conceded a foul to see the opportunity go to waste.
Southampton saw the best opportunity of the half saved off the line by Martinez as Jan Bednarek got on the end of a James Ward-Prowse corner, two more shots were blocked on the line before Villa could finally get the ball clear.
Moments before the final whistle, Ings had the ball in the back of the net after a through ball and a scramble to tap it in on the line, but it was ruled out for a tight offside by VAR and saw Villa secure the three points.
The win means that Villa move up to eighth in the league and still with a game in hand over the top five which could see them move into a spot for European football. They play West Ham on Wednesday which could prove vital for their push up the table.
The loss means that Southampton have now only won one from their last eight games and sit 11th in the table.
They play title contenders Manchester United on Tuesday night and with both teams hoping to get back into form.
By Evan Clem
