Saints & Sinners

Everton; possessor of the last remaining unbeaten record in the Premiership; saw that record go up in smoke on a chastening afternoon against revitalised Southampton; who followed up their soul-invigorating 3-3 draw at Chelsea last time out; with an inspiring 2-0 victory at St Mary's.

Carlo Ancelotti's league leaders; so inspired and energetic in their first eight outings of the season; unfortunately came unstuck with a tired-looking and disparate display; with individual errors and a collective inability to function at the heart of this rather inapt performance.

Their defence was rather lackadaisical at times and afforded the Southampton attackers too much room; allowing James Ward-Prowse & Che Adams to score the goals to put the home side in a commanding position. Ben Godfrey; in an unaccustomed position at right-back instead of central defence; was found wanting at times and Southampton seemed intent to take advantage of that flank; with Ryan Bertrand & Nathan Redmond in particular finding joy down that side.

Ward-Prowse & Oriol Romeu were controlling the game for the Saints well down the middle; with a sense of purpose and industry evidently soaring through Ralph Hasenhuttl's revitalised side. For Everton; the final nail in the coffin came when left-back Lucas Digne got himself into an unnecessary challenge on Kyle Walker-Peters; seeing the red card and ending all ostensible hopes of a fight-back.