Southampton 0-2 Watford
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Abdoulaye Doucoure's first-half goal was his second of the season after also scoring in the 3-3 draw versus Liverpool in August
Watford scored two spectacular goals as they deservedly won away at Southampton to move up to fourth in the Premier League table.
Abdoulaye Doucoure put the Hornets ahead with a sweet, low half-volley from 25 yards to beat Fraser Forster at the end of the first half.
Substitute Daryl Janmaat had only been on the pitch for four minutes before he made it 2-0 with a fine 30-yard strike.
Cedric Soares had Saints' only shot on target in the match, a 30-yard effort saved in injury time.
Silva's wonderful start
The victory continues a fantastic start for Watford manager Marco Silva, who has now registered two wins and two draws in his opening four Premier League matches since replacing the sacked Walter Mazzarri.
The Hornets finished 17th last season, one place above the relegation zone, but the former Hull City boss has quickly developed his side into a well-organised, hard-to-beat outfit.
They had plenty of possession and deserved their 38th-minute lead, Doucoure finishing well from 25 yards after Southampton failed to clear Jose Holebas' long throw.
Even though they lost defenders Younes Kaboul and Kiko Femenia to injury midway through the second half, the visitors remained organised and disciplined, with Southampton going 92 minutes before finally registering a shot on target.
Janmaat, who replaced Femenia in the 62nd minute, made the result safe with another superb strike after he connected with Tom Cleverley's clever sideways header.
"We have a very good spirit in the squad and everyone was ready to play today," said Doucoure. "We're training very hard and the manager has got us into a very good shape."
Goal-shy Saints: Cedric Soares' injury-time effort was Southampton's only shot on target (green circle), with Saints having three attempts that were off target through Shane Long (seven), Nathan Redmond (22) and Sofiane Boufal (19)
Southampton's goalscoring problems continue
Southampton have now failed to score in four of their five matches in all competitions in 2017-18.
Italy international Manolo Gabbiadini was ineffective and even the second-half introductions of forwards Shane Long and Charlie Austin could not help them find a way through the Watford defence.
But Southampton struggling for goals is nothing new. They did not score in six of their last eight league matches last season, a run that contributed to the sacking of Claude Puel in June, despite him guiding the club to an eighth-placed finish and the League Cup final.
Mauricio Pellegrino, who replaced Puel in the summer and then sold England striker Jay Rodriguez to West Brom for £12m in July, will be hoping his team can quickly improve up front.
Man of the match - Abdoulaye Doucoure (Watford)
As well as scoring the opening goal, Abdoulaye Doucoure also made more passes (60) than anyone else on the pitch with a 90% success rate
Rare win for Watford over the Saints - the stats
Watford enjoyed a league win over Southampton for the first time in eight attempts (won one, drew three, lost four); their first since October 2008 (3-0 at St Mary's).
Southampton have failed to score in nine of their last 12 Premier League matches, including three of their four games so far in 2017-18.
Watford have kept a clean sheet in three successive Premier League games for the first time since October 2016.
The Hornets have sealed successive Premier League away wins for only the second time, also doing so in December 2015.
Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his 14th top-flight goal in his career, but this was his first from outside the box (Premier League and Ligue 1 combined).
Daryl Janmaat's now scored three Premier League goals for Watford - all away from home. Before joining the Hornets, all three of his Premier League goals had come in home games (at Newcastle).
Watford's seven goals in the Premier League this season have come via six different goalscorers - only Abdoulaye Doucouré has scored more than once in the competition for them in 2017-18.
'Very proud' - what they said
Watford were better than us - Pellegrino
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino: "They were better in the first half, especially with second balls and physically they were fresher than us. For me it was two soft goals that we have to try to avoid in the future. Second half we were much better but could not create.
"We have to keep trying, I have confidence in my squad, I think we will improve and we will have to keep going."
On his side's failure to score for a fourth time in five matches: "It is part of football, sometimes we don't have our day, like today. It is really difficult to create to score goals, but we have to keep going. I am confident we can improve.
"Watford had a lot of people behind the ball. We have to push on and keep working."
Marco Silva 'really happy' with Watford's unbeaten start to season
Watford manager Marco Silva: "It is really pleasing, and I am really proud of what we did.
"Congratulations for our team and our fans, they created a fantastic atmosphere and we deserved the win. It is not easy to come here and play how we played and control it how we did. We put pressure on the opponent, I do not remember a clear chance for them.
"The players work every day and this commitment and attitude means we can enjoy the match.
"Three clean sheets in a row is very important and gives the team confidence, but we played at times with a lot of quality and deserved the three points as we were stronger than our opponents.
"If you analyse the matches, we have had a lot of problems, we have used six centre backs and that is not normal, but we have kept three clean sheets. It is a very good start but we need to continue in this way."
What's next?
Southampton visit Crystal Palace in the early Premier League game on Saturday, 16 September (12:30 BST), before Watford entertain Manchester City at 15:00 BST.
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