Mauricio Pellegrino hailed his captain marvel as Steven Davis scored the winning goal on his 200th appearance for the club.

The Northern Ireland skipper’s sixth minute strike against Crystal Palace secured Pellegrino a first away win as Saints boss.

Davis was started further forward at Selhurst Park and it paid dividends.

Pellegrino said: “To score a goal is the most important for everybody, for the team.

“I congratulate Steven because he is a really positive guy, always open minded to improve and help in the team.

“It is a good present for him, the goal, and hopefully he is going to score much more goals to help the team.”

There was also a sensational performance from summer signing Mario Lemina, who was excellent in the heart of the midfield.

“Mario is the profile of player that we didn’t have in the squad,” reflected Pellegrino.

“I think that he can help us to be stronger in the middle of the pitch, but I am not just happy about him, I am happy about everybody.

“Virgil came back and he played another ten minutes and we need everybody to try to do Southampton a little bit better.”

After a disappointing defeat at Watford, Saints really needed a response at Palace, and they certainly got it, with the performance pleasing the manager as much as the result.

“It was an important game for us. To win on this pitch is not easy,” admitted Pellegrino.

“Obviously everybody is happy, we are really happy, about the result, but also how we achieved the game from the beginning.

“The team was really focussed and in second ball. It is not just Benteke but the people that is around him and in front of him, because Palace have a group of players with quality.

“We controlled the ball and it is something we need to improve. We have a group of players with the quality and the capacity to keep the ball and I think we did well.

“This is important news for us, the performance of the team.”

Pellegrino rung the changes for the game, which included replacing Manolo Gabbiadini with Shane Long.

“I imagined that at the beginning Crystal Palace pressing, a lot of balls in the air,” he explained.

“I thought that Shane could be a threat for them because it’s a player that runs in behind, can stretch the back four and create more space for us.

“Also he is working well and he is a player who deserves to do it and have this opportunity and I think it was a good way for him.”