Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa

Ollie Watkins provided the decisive moment against Southampton as Aston Villa picked up a third consecutive away win in the Premier League.

The striker headed home Douglas Luiz’s free-kick after 77 minutes to settle a hard-fought clash at St Mary’s Stadium.

Saints had earlier seen a goal disallowed in each half – one for offside and one for a foul in the build-up to James Ward-Prowse’s deflected shot.

Villa, who controlled the game for large parts, also dealt with the interruption of a drone, which took the players off the pitch for several minutes.

Álex Moreno made his first start for the club in place of the injured Lucas Digne as Unai Emery made one change from the team that beat Leeds United 2-1 last time out.

And it was the visitors who controlled the game from kick-off, monopolising possession and blunting a team who had won their last three matches.

For all their control, Villa struggled to carve out chances, and they were relieved to see the linesman’s flag raised after Che Adams and Kyle Walker-Peters had combined to turn home Lyanco’s cross on 25 minutes.

The sight of Emiliano Buendía galloping towards the Southampton box had the away fans excited, and after he found Leon Bailey, the Jamaican’s cross ended with Jacob Ramsey testing Gavin Bazunu from close-range.

With minutes to go until half-time, the players were taken off the pitch when a drone was spotted flying above the stadium.

Once the teams reemerged after a short break, Boubacar Kamara headed an effort on goal in the time that remained before Michael Salisbury brought the half to an end.

Villa waited 30 minutes for their first shot on target, but they needed only 27 seconds to test Bazunu in the second half, calling the ‘keeper into action via a shot from Bailey.

At the other end of the pitch, Emi Martínez had been untroubled in the visitors’ goal up until just past the hour mark when he pulled off a crucial save, denying Adam Armstrong’s shot with his feet.

The Argentine was beaten moments later, however, as Ward-Prowse’s shot deflected off Ezri Konsa and looped up beyond his reach and into the net.

As Southampton celebrated, a reprieve was given to Villa when Salisbury disallowed the goal for a foul on Jacob Ramsey following a VAR check.

The tables were turned on 77 minutes when another VAR check threatened to rule out a goal for Villa, but Watkins was shown to be onside when he headed Luiz’s free-kick past Bazunu, sparking wild scenes in the away end.

Southampton's attempts to muster a response were led by their substitutes, with Sekou Mara sending a header narrowly off target before Martínez pulled off a stunning, diving save from  Moussa Djenepo in stoppage time.

The Villa goalkeeper threw his gloves into a jubilant away end at full-time as he led the celebrations alongside his teammates.