Samuel Edozie netted for the second time in a week as Southampton dispatched Blackburn 4-0 to extend their unbeaten run to 14 matches.
Winger Edozie poked in a corner before Stuart Armstrong’s third goal of the season, Sekou Mara’s tap-in and Carlos Alcaraz’s finish punished Rovers, who had Callum Brittain sent off after two yellow cards.
Alcaraz also missed a penalty for the hosts but they secured a fifth straight home win for the first time since 2014 and continued their best streak for 39 years.
Southampton boasted 73 per cent of possession in a first half in which Blackburn sat back and tried not to concede. But Saints had little to show for their domination until the 44th-minute goal.
Stuart Armstrong showed nifty footwork before whipping a shot past the post, while Edozie and Will Smallbone caused panic in the box with their quick feet and Sondre Tronstad was forced to head onto the roof of his own goal.
James Bree ran onto a volley, Adam Armstrong charged down goalkeeper Leopold Wahlstedt and Smallbone’s controlled finish from Stuart Armstrong’s cross continued the largely one-way traffic.
The only time that flow changed was in the 24th minute when the visitors won a free-kick on the edge of the Saints box.
Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics smashed through the wall before Brittain followed up – with both kept out by Gavin Bazunu’s strong wrists.
Edozie had returned to the starting XI for the first time since October after scoring against Coventry in the week.
He rewarded Russell Martin, and capped the authoritative first half, by prodding in a Bree corner on the cusp of half-time.
After Wahlstedt had brilliantly denied Stuart Armstrong, Blackburn showed off their attacking pedigree for the first time as Bazunu had to be cute to save from Andrew Moran and Harry Leonard.
But that momentum was squashed in the 55th minute when Brittain needlessly received his second booking for kicking the ball away, having got his first for a shirt pull on Kyle Walker-Peters.
That only made Southampton’s task easier and nine minutes later, Stuart Armstrong stroked in after Flynn Downes had broken through and been chopped down.
Self-preservation was the name of the last half an hour for Rovers but they could not prevent Southampton’s fresh legs.
Alcaraz’s ‘Panenka’ penalty went over the bar, after Hayden Carter had downed Mara, and Wahlstedt stunningly denied Ryan Fraser.
Saints added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time as Mara turned in Fraser’s cross and Alcaraz thumped in a rebound after Smallbone had been thwarted.
Saints went level on points with third-placed Leeds and closed the gap to the runaway top two to 10 points.
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Premier League MD10: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
We are now 10 games into the Premier League season and the table is beginning to take shape, but that does not mean there is no room for an upset or two.
On Saturday, both Manchester City and Arsenal fell to surprise defeats at Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively.
It was only the third time since the start of 2017-18 that both of the previous season's top two teams had lost on the same day in the Premier League, after March 7, 2021 and January 14, 2023.
Pep Guardiola's champions could have few complaints about the result at the Vitality Stadium, where Andoni Iraola's Cherries won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.04 to 1.56.
But which other games featured a lucky winner or an unlucky loser? We delve into the Opta data to find out.
Unlucky losers: Arsenal
The weekend's action began with Arsenal travelling to St James' Park to face Newcastle, with Mikel Arteta's side chasing a victory to move within a point of leaders Liverpool.
However, they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat as Alexander Isak's early goal proved enough for Newcastle to make it three wins in their last four home league games against Arsenal (one loss).
The Gunners could count themselves unlucky to come away from Tyneside with nothing, however, after limiting Newcastle to a measly 0.53 xG – 0.25 of which came from the chance for Isak's goal.
Only West Ham, who played half of their defeat to Nottingham Forest with 10 men, created a lower figure across the nine games to take place this weekend, with 0.13 xG.
Arsenal were far from their free-flowing best, though, only recording 10 attempts worth 1.05 xG themselves. They have averaged just 7.4 shots per game in their away Premier League matches this season, with only Brentford (7.5) taking fewer.
Lucky winners: Southampton
Just two teams – Wolves and Ipswich Town – remain without a victory in the Premier League after Southampton finally got off the mark by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Russell Martin's team accumulated just 0.74 xG to Everton's 1.56, but Adam Armstrong's strike five minutes from time handed them a huge three points in their fight for safety.
While Beto, who headed against the crossbar just 25 seconds before Armstrong's winner, and Jack Harrison spurned great chances for the Toffees, Southampton were also grateful for a late VAR intervention, as the former saw a potential leveller chalked off for a marginal offside call.
It was the first time Everton had failed to score against Southampton in the Premier League since February 2022, bringing their five-match unbeaten run in the competition to a halt.
Unlucky losers: Crystal Palace
Southampton ended the weekend in 19th, above winless Wolves after they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at Molineux.
Marc Guehi salvaged a draw for the Eagles, who were without star men Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze yet arguably still did enough to leave the West Midlands with all three points.
They racked up 19 shots totalling 2.51 xG to their hosts' 11, which had a total value of 1.51 xG. Palace's xG figure was the highest in the Premier League this weekend, but they were missing their shooting boots as Ismaila Sarr squandered two glorious chances when they were a goal to the good in the second half.
With both defences struggling, this was only the second Premier League game of the season to be goalless at half-time but see both sides score at least twice in the second half, after Everton 2-3 Bournemouth in August.
There could have been a fifth goal in stoppage time, too, as Jean-Phillipe Mateta saw a potential winner disallowed for a foul on Jose Sa in the build-up. Wolves – and their under-fire head coach Gary O'Neil – arguably got away with one.
Lucky winners: Chelsea
Sunday's late game saw Chelsea fight back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, denying Ruud van Nistelrooy a first Premier League win as the Red Devils' interim head coach.
Moises Caicedo's well-taken volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Chelsea arguably looked the more likely victors in the second half, but they only generated 1.1 xG from their 12 attempts – and just 0.29 from six after the interval.
United, meanwhile, had chances worth 1.98 xG, though Fernandes' spot-kick – with an xG value of 0.79 – was a major contributing factor.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho squandered decent opportunities for United, though, and incoming boss Ruben Amorim has plenty of work to do with their attackers.
United have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season – their worst record through 10 matches of any league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine).
Fans of a certain vintage will need no reminder of what happened at the end of that season – United were relegated from the First Division, their fate sealed by club legend Denis Law scoring against them with a nonchalant backheel, while representing rivals Man City.
Burnley 'emotionally struggled' in Millwall defeat, concedes Parker
Scott Parker said his young Burnley side "struggled emotionally" in their 1-0 defeat to Millwall, a loss that snapped their nine-game winning run in the Championship.
The decisive moment came in the 52nd minute when Millwall captain Jake Cooper powerfully headed Femi Azeez's cross beyond the grasp of James Trafford.
But the Lions, who moved up to seventh in the table with the win, were worthy winners at The Den.
They registered 12 shots compared to Burnley's eight, ending with an expected goals (xG) total of 0.83 compared to their opponents' 0.17.
Parker's side managed just one effort on target, which came in the fourth minute courtesy of Luca Koleosho, with the Clarets boss lamenting his side's display in the final third.
"We came here knowing it's a tough place to come and dominated the first 25 minutes but the game went away from us at the back end of that first-half," Parker said.
"Emotionally, with a young team like ours we struggled in the big moments.
"We need to be more progressive in the front third but it's a really young team, a brand new team and we need to keep working hard.
"We lacked spark in the second-half and the game has been decided on a set play."
But for Millwall boss Neil Harris, he masterminded the Lions' first league triumph over Burnley since a 3-1 victory back in February 2012.
It was also a third consecutive 1-0 win for Millwall. Since the start of last season, they’ve won 13 Championship games by that scoreline, at least five more than any other side.
And Harris believes his side warranted their victory, insisting that his tactical decisions made the Clarets run out of ideas.
"It was a strong result and I thought Burnley ran out of ideas," Harris said.
"We grew into the game after Burnley were slightly better in the first 20 minutes, but I couldn't see them scoring against us.
"You just need a moment here at The Den and Jake Cooper produces it and, if anything, I thought we'd get the second goal.
"If we win games 1-0 it's fine and the first goal in the Championship is so important, especially for us."
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