Virgil van Dijk strikes as Southampton down stuttering Swansea City

Virgil van Dijk’s first goal in English football put Southampton on the road to their second Premier League victory of the season in convincing fashion against a faltering Swansea City.

The former Celtic man headed in a pinpoint James Ward-Prowse corner to break the deadlock just 11 minutes in and Swansea City never recovered, with a Ki Sung-Yueng own goal and a clinical Sadio Mane strike wrapping up all three points in a one-sided second half, though Gylfi Sigurdsson netted a late consolation from the penalty spot.

Swansea City have been one of the Premier League’s most impressive teams in the opening weeks of the season but this defeat extends their winless run in all competitions to four matches, and Garry Monk’s men now find themselves level on points with the resurgent Saints, who will now head to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea next weekend with renewed confidence.

Garry Monk's men enjoyed the majority of possession all afternoon at St Mary's but it was Southampton who consistently created the clearer chances, with Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Mane in particular showcasing some slick passing interchanges.

From the moment Ki deflected Tadic's attempted cross beyond Lukasz Fabianski early in the second half the result was never in doubt, though Neil Taylor managed to conjure some late pressure with a series of swashbuckling runs from left-back, tempting Jose Fonte into a rash challenge that allowed Sigurdsson to restore some respectability to the scoreline from 12 yards.

8' - CHANCE: Wanyama wins the ball on the halfway line and drives forward before finding Pelle who slides a neat ball through to the onrushing Mane, but the Senegal international's low shot trickles just wide.

11' - GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Swansea City. Tadic wins a corner off Naughton and Van Dijk rises highest at the near post to head in Ward-Prowse's pinpoint delivery - his first Premier League goal.

54' - GOAL! Southampton 2-0 Swansea City. Pelle's flick through to Mane is cut out but he dinks the ball to Tadic, whose attempted cross ricochets over Fabianski off the outstretched leg of Ki.

61' - GOAL! Southampton 3-0 Swansea City. The Saints are playing with real swagger now and after Williams blocks a low Pelle shot, Mane shifts the ball onto his right foot before firing low beyond Fabianski into the bottom corner.

83' - PENALTY SWANSEA CITY: Fonte slides in late on Taylor and Sigurdsson has the chance to score a consolation from 12 yards...

84' - GOAL! Southampton 3-1 Swansea City. Sigurdsson fires his spot kick high down the middle as Stekelenburg dives to his right.

89' - CHANCE: Montero gets to the byline and hangs a nice cross up towards the back post, but Ayew's powerful header is straight at Stekelenburg.

Sadio Mane has scored or assisted eight goals in his last five Premier League appearances at St Mary's (four goals, four assists).

Swansea City conceded three goals or more on six occasions in the Premier League last season (against West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and twice against Chelsea).

Has Swansea City's early-season bubble burst? Hailed as one of the Premier League's most impressive sides in the opening weeks of the season, Swansea City have now failed to win any of their last four matches in all competitions. More worryingly, the balance and fluidity that characterised much of their attacking play just a few weeks ago appears to have gone.

Jefferson Montero, so devastating from the left flank against Chelsea and Newcastle, did not even make Garry Monk's starting XI as the Swansea City boss instead favoured the midfield diamond that confounded Manchester United. But the Ecuadorian's pace and direct running were missed as Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis - utterly anonymous until he was replaced at half-time - found themselves too isolated to do damage.

Jonjo Shelvey, arguably the Premier League's outstanding player in the opening month of the campaign, got little reward from his relentlessly forward-thinking passes and frustration got the better of him before Monk brought him off for his own protection with 10 minutes remaining. At the other end Southampton carved Swansea City open far too easily and if this slide back into mid-table is not to snowball into something more worrying, Monk has a number of problems to solve all over the pitch.

Graziano Pelle (Southampton): Unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself, he built on last weekend's two-goal display against Manchester United by leading the line intelligently, finding team-mates in dangerous positions and testing Lukasz Fabianski on numerous occasions. It was his clever dink that allowed Tadic to supply the cross that forced Ki to put the ball through his own net and secure three important points for Southampton.

Southampton: Stekelenburg 7, Cedric 7, Fonte 6, Van Dijk 8, Bertrand 7, Ward-Prowse 7, Wanyama 7, Mane 8, Davis 6, Tadic 7, Pelle 9. Subs: Romeu 6, Rodriguez 6, Juanmi 6.

Swansea City: Fabianski 6, Naughton 5, Fernandez 6, Williams 6, Taylor 7, Ki 5, Cork 5, Shelvey 6, Ayew 5, Sigurdsson 6, Gomis 4. Subs: Eder 7, Montero 7, Britton 6.