Joey Barton came off the bench to claim three points for Burnley at Turf Moor with a deflected free-kick.
Defences had been on top before that, with Virgil van Dijk outstanding in the centre of the Southampton rearguard.
Claude Puel's side exerted plenty of pressure on the Clarets after half-time.
But when Burnley won a free-kick 25 yards out, Barton sent it low into the net with 12 minutes left.
Van Dijk headed straight at Tom Heaton in the dying moments - and Heaton then made a fine double save to secure the points.
See: Burnley report | Southampton report
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