Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record by going 21 games unbeaten as Russell Martin celebrated his return to Swansea with a 3-1 success.
Che Adams, Will Smallbone and birthday boy Flynn Downes scored first-half goals as the Saints secured a Sky Bet Championship victory that should have been by a far greater margin.
Jamie Paterson gave Swansea brief hope in cutting the deficit to 2-1, but this was a sobering defeat for the hosts – their first in four games since losing at Southampton on Boxing Day.
Southampton have now eclipsed their best unbeaten run in all competitions since joining the Football League in 1920, the Saints going 20 games without defeat the following year.
A sixth win in seven league games moves Southampton into second place, above Ipswich on goal difference before they meet Championship leaders Leicester on Monday.
Martin was given a warm welcome by Swansea fans on his return to the club he managed for two years and left last June.
Luke Williams, who worked as Martin’s assistant at MK Dons and Swansea, was in charge in the home dugout for the first time in the league.
Williams had started his reign with an FA Cup victory over Morecambe and a Championship draw at Birmingham, but this was a far tougher proposition against visitors unbeaten since September 23.
Southampton thrashed Swansea 5-0 at St Mary’s and could have matched that total inside the opening half-hour.
Adams volleyed an inviting opportunity wide before Carl Rushworth pushed Stuart Armstrong’s sixth-minute shot into the Scotland striker’s path for his ninth goal of the season.
Rushworth was the busiest man in Swansea, with several stops including a fantastic double save to deny Ryan Fraser and Adam Armstrong.
Swansea’s defence was breached again after 20 minutes, although there was more than a hint of offside about it.
Stuart Armstrong seemed well beyond the last home defender, but he was allowed to continue and his cross was converted by Smallbone from inside the six-yard box.
Josh Tymon had Swansea’s first effort, looping over from 20 yards, but Rushworth kept them in the contest by kicking away Adam Armstrong’s angled attempt at a post.
Southampton’s share of possession was over 80 per cent at times, but Swansea scored out of nowhere four minutes before the break.
Harrison Ashby’s cross ended in a collision between Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and Jamal Lowe.
The Swansea striker had possibly been offside, but the ball ran kindly to Liam Cullen and his centre was nodded home by Paterson.
Southampton restored their two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time as former Swansea midfielder Downes fired home from 20 yards with the aid of a deflection.
Downes was celebrating his 25th birthday, but did not salute his first Saints goal out of respect for his former club.
The second period was a far quieter affair until Paterson struck the Saints woodwork twice in as many minutes.
Bazunu also thwarted substitute Yannick Bolasie from close range as Swansea finished strongly, but without success.
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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