Brighton & Hove Albion made it three straight wins in all competitions as they cruised to a 4-0 victory at Southampton.

The away side dominated much of the first half and created a number of chances, eventually taking the lead through Joao Pedro’s nonchalant finish after being put through.

They doubled their advantage early in the second half as Georginio Rutter finished inside the area after being set up by Yankuba Minteh.

Kaoru Mitoma added another with a similar clipped finish before Jack Hinshelwood wrapped things up for the Seagulls.

Brighton move up to eighth in the table, a point clear of Fulham, ahead of Aston Villa’s match with Chelsea. Southampton remain bottom of the table and 13 points adrift of safety.

How the match unfolded

The first chance of the match went to the away side, with Aaron Ramsdale saving Rutter’s low shot in the penalty area with an outstretched leg, as Mitoma also went close and Minteh slipped at the vital moment when being put clean through.

The Seagulls continued to dominate and finally made the pressure count as more poor defending from Southampton allowed Joao Pedro to surge through on goal and dink an effort over the helpless Ramsdale.

The England goalkeeper was again called upon to limit the damage before the end of the half as he made a superb stop to deny Minteh’s curling shot.

Saints thought they had equalised just minutes into the second half through Cameron Archer but the striker was found to be offside.

That disappointment was compounded by a second Brighton goal as Minteh nicked the ball off Joe Aribo before unselfishly squaring for Rutter to easily finish in the six-yard box.

Mitoma added further gloss to the scoreline with another clipped finish past Ramsdale, before Hinshelwood added a fourth with a driven effort from a corner.

Saints’ sorry season continues

Southampton and Ivan Juric were hoping to recapture some of the positive aspects of their second-half performance in the defeat to Bournemouth, and that was highlighted in the line-up, with Tyler Dibling and Leslie Ugochukwu handed starts after their fine displays off the bench last weekend.

But the bottom side started the match poorly, with yet another first-half display that featured defensive errors and a midfield struggling for creation and bite, as Brighton created chances at will and eventually went ahead.

Dibling struggled to make an impact and Kamaldeen Sulemana, buoyed by his goal last weekend, only showed flashes of quality in the rare moments the Saints went forward.

Things only got worse after the break, as Brighton continued to carve through a non-existent Southampton midfield on numerous occasions and apply heavy pressure on their strugglig backline prone to defensive lapses in concentration.

Despite conceding four goals, the result would have been worse for Saints if not for the heroics of Ramsdale.

Southampton must regroup from another heavy defeat at home as they travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in just four days.

Brighton continue fine form

Brighton have enjoyed a fine couple of weeks, with two victories over Chelsea at home booking them a place into the fifth round of the FA Cup and moving up the table in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, this was the first away trip for the club since their 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, and Fabian Hurzeler’s men seemed determined to seize the early initiative as they dominated the early exchanges and created a host of opportunities.

They took the lead through Joao Pedro’s superb finish, with the Brazilian back in the starting XI following Danny Welbeck’s injury, while Carlos Baleba continued his fine season with a number of marauding runs that allowed the Seagulls to move up the pitch at will.

Rutter caused problems for the Southampton backline, and capped his fine performance with a goal. Minteh was also a threat down the right, selflessly creating the second goal and fashioning a number of chances to score himself.

Brighton will hope to continue their push up the top half of the table when they face Bournemouth at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday.

Match officials

Referee: Darren Bond. Assistants: Marc Perry, Natalie Aspinall. Fourth official: Sam Barrott. VAR: Darren England. Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger.