Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says their first hour in victory over Aston Villa was as good his team has played under him.
Saints were sensational at Villa Park, as they stormed into a 4-0 advantage, thanks to stunning goals from Jannik Vestergaard, James Ward-Prowse – who netted a pair of special free-kicks – and Danny Ings.
Although Villa responded impressively, cutting the deficit to just one, including a pair of strikes deep into added time, it was a well-deserved three points for Hasenhüttl's side in the end.
"It's a strong side we play against here, that's very clear," said the Saints boss. "They had a fantastic start to the season, they have massive quality in the team, but we were absolutely strong, especially the first 60 minutes.
"If you want to go four up here you must do something right, and with one disallowed goal too.
"You cannot play better than what we have done in the first 60 minutes, and in the end, when you concede the first goal, then you start thinking a little bit and it's normal. The legs are getting heavy and you are struggling, and then it's overtime with another six minutes, and you concede the second one and are thinking 'ooh, hopefully we win this game.'
"The way we played in the first 60 minutes was by far our best away game I think this season.
"It's good to see that we can score, it's good to see that we can defend. After half-time, we didn't play in possession like we can do normally, and this was what was a little bit frustrating to see, because then you come under pressure automatically."
