Brighton and Hove Albion continued their fine recent run as they cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win over hapless Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.

The Seagulls dominated the early exchanges and eventually took the lead midway through the first half with a delicately clipped finish by Joao Pedro after the Brazilian was put through on goal.

This dominance continued after half-time, and they doubled their advantage early in the second half as Georginio Rutter finished from close range following good work by Yankuba Minteh down the right.

Kaoru Mitoma added a third for the away side before Jack Hinshelwood rounded things off with a driven finish on another day to forget for the Saints.

Brighton finished the match having created chances worth 4.01 expected goals, while lowly Southampton mustered just 0.13 going the other way.

Brighton move up to eighth in the table, a point clear of Fulham while Southampton remain rooted to the bottom of the table and 13 points adrift of safety.

Data Debrief: Sorry Saints reach new lows

It's been a horrific season for Southampton, especially at home, with only one side in Premier League history, Sunderland in 2005/06, having fewer points than the Saints' four in their first 13 home matches of the season.

Joao Pedro was back in the Brighton side today as a result of an injury to Danny Welbeck, with the Brazilian marking the occasion with his 50th goal in English football. The Brazilian has netted 26 times for the Seagulls and scored 24 goals for his former side Watford in all competitions.

Minteh was a constant threat for the Seagulls and could have helped himself to a hat-trick if it wasn't for the heroics of Aaron Ramsdale in the Southampton goal. He still created the second goal for Rutter and has now been involved in six goals in his last six matches for the club, with four goals and two assists. The 20-year-old is fast becoming one of the most exciting young attackers in the Premier League.