Southampton manager Claude Puel delivered his first Premier League win as Southampton boss as his side ran out 1-0 winners against Swansea at St Mary’s.
Despite the home team’s dominance, it took until the 64th minute for the Saints to break the deadlock when Charlie Austin brought the ball down before hitting home with a rising shot.
Southampton rued missed chances in the first half to open the scoring when Nathan Redmond missed from 12 yards out, followed by Austin hitting the woodwork.
Francesco Guidolin’s side could have snatched a point at the depth when Gylfi Sigurdsson’s low shot was well-saved by Fraser Forster.
Southampton now sit 14th a place ahead of Swansea who trail the Saints by a point.
Claude Puel’s men had missed a string of chances prior to Austin rifling home his third goal in two games, the striker having struck a brace against Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday.
The former QPR man had also rattled the bar moments before breaking the deadlock, while Lukasz Fabianski had frustrated the hosts with a string of fine saves.
The victory, which lifts Southampton out of the bottom three, was their third in succession over the Welsh side and the clean sheet they kept was their first in 17 games.
Swansea, meanwhile, rarely threatened to earn what would have been their first league triumph since the opening day of the season.