Five things we learned from Brighton v Southampton

Here are five things we learned from the game:

1. Saints took a giant leap forward in maintaining their Premier League status:

James Ward-Prowse leaps onto Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

With the 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium, Saints moved five points clear of the relegation zone.

And because Burnley and Crystal Palace also picked up victories yesterday, it made it even more important that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side followed suit.

Saints’ run-in, on paper, is a lot less stressful than Cardiff’s, who host Chelsea this afternoon, before having to play Manchester City and Burnley.

2. Hojbjerg stood up when Saints needed him:

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg celebrates his goal against Brighton

At only 23-years-old, Hojbjerg showed exceptional leadership to help Saints win yesterday.

For his goal, the captain won the ball back, passed it to Stuart Armstrong, he picked out Nathan Redmond and he then slipped it into the path of the Danish international.

Hojbjerg made no mistake in slotting his shot into the bottom corner past Matt Ryan in the Brighton net.

And when Saints were under severe amounts of pressure, the midfielder continued to be a vocal presence in the heart of the midfield to drive his team on.

3. Saints’ surprise worked:

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl salutes the fans after the final whistle at Brighton

Ralph Hasenthuttl spent the three-week break working on a formation break to catch Brighton out.

The Austrian switched from a 5-3-2 to a 4-2-2-2 formation for Saints’ trip to the Amex Stadium.

At first glance, it looked like Hasenhuttl changed his gameplan on Friday after Jannik Vestergaard picked up a groin injury.

However, Saints’ boss confirmed that it was his intention all along to play what he labels his preferred formation.

4. Danny Ings was back amongst the action:

Danny Ings in action against Brighton

Following a lengthy spell on the treatment table, Ings managed to play for just over an hour at the Amex Stadium.

With Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk breathing down on him, it was hard for the striker to make any real impact.

However, he played a couple of cute passes to put Redmond through on goal, which almost led to a first half goal.

5. Three’s a charm for Angus Gunn:

Angus Gunn gathers the ball at the Amex Stadium

Gunn kept his third clean sheet in six games on Saturday.

The keeper, who was brought into the side to play Chelsea in January only to be dropped again, has surely cemented his spot as Saints’ number one.

After making a couple of stray decisions against Brighton, Gunn saw the game out in a confident manner, despite the continued long balls pumped into his box.