Rickie Lambert hailed Saints' performance in their 3-1 win over Manchester City as their best of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino's side dominated proceedings at St Mary's and could have triumphed by an even greater margin.
"I think it's our best performance (of the season)," said Lambert. "We were absolutely superb today and got exactly what we deserved.
"We looked for the early goal and looked to put them under pressure early and hope to capitalise on it. It worked perfectly. Then we went 2-0 up, which was even better."
The score could have been even more lopsided had referee Martin Atkinson not waved away Jay Rodriguez's penalty appeals on the stroke of half-time, following a clumsy Yaya Toure challenge.
Rodriguez said: "I ran in and I think there was a little nudge, but the referee hasn't given it so we got on with the game."
He added: "We press hard, take the game to them. As you can see, it creates chances and puts us on the front foot. We've taken to it well and put in a great performance."
