Crystal Palace 1-3 Southampton

Sadio Mane scored his third Southampton goal since his move from Red Bull Salzburg in August

• Southampton back up to fourth in Premier League

• Crystal Palace drop into bottom three

• Eagles have only won one of last 12 league matches

• Saints score three goals for second successive game

Southampton moved up to fourth in the Premier League as they claimed an easy win at struggling Crystal Palace.

Sadio Mane raced on to James Ward-Prowse's pass and ran through the home defence, before he took the ball around goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

Ryan Bertrand fired in from Mane's pull-back to make it 2-0 before Toby Alderweireld powerfully headed a third.

Scott Dann headed in a late consolation from Mile Jedinak's free-kick for the Eagles, who drop into the bottom three.

But the late goal from the hosts made little difference as Southampton gained a fully deserved victory - their 10th in the league this season.

The three points take Ronald Koeman's side back above West Ham, who lost 2-0 at Chelsea, and into one of the Champions League places.

Southampton, who last played in European competition in 2003-04 when they lost in the first round of the Uefa Cup, have responded well after a run of five successive defeats with back-to-back Premier League victories.

After restricting Palace to speculative long-range efforts in a bright spell from the hosts at the end of the first half, the visitors' class told with two goals within seven minutes of the restart to kill the game.

The Eagles have scored just two goals in five matches - but boss Neil Warnock will be more unhappy with his side's defending.

They had only taken the lead in two of their previous eight home league matches and were lucky to not fall behind in the fourth minute when Alderweireld's speculative looping shot hit the crossbar.

However, the reprieve did not last long as Mane was allowed to sprint through the centre of the Eagles defence and finish calmly.

Palace enjoyed their best spell midway through the first half but Jedinak's free-kick was held comfortably by Fraser Forster and both Joe Ledley and Jason Puncheon fired off target.

That wastefulness cost the hosts - as within two minutes of the second half, the game was beyond them.

From a throw-in, Mane spun marker Joel Ward, got to the byeline and pulled the ball back for Bertrand to lash it into the top corner from 15 yards out after Graziano Pelle had missed his kick.

The Eagles then conceded a third as Alderweireld scored his first Saints goal, with a header from the edge of the six-yard area following Ward-Prowse's corner.

Dann got an 86th-minute consolation for Palace, but it was too little, too late.

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman said: "I'm very pleased and we were very solid. We scored some good goals and defended well.

"We dealt with the long balls and the direct, physical play of Crystal Palace and that was the key. We knew we had more quality but it would be a battle and a fight and we were well prepared for that."

Southampton play Chelsea at home on 28 December and Koeman added: "For everybody Chelsea are the biggest test. In my opinion they are the best team in the Premier League until now, but we believe in ourselves and it will be a great game."

Southampton's Sadio Mane is in Senegal's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in January

Ryan Bertrand was part of the Chelsea side that won the Champions League final in 2012

Toby Alderweireld is on loan at Southampton from Spanish champions Atletico Madrid

Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace side have won three of 18 Premier League matches this season

Crystal Palace - beaten at Manchester City last Saturday - have conceded three goals twice in one week