Saints made it back to back wins in a comprehensive display at Crystal Palace and in doing so pushed themselves back into the top four.
This was a tricky game for Saints in that although Palace aren't exactly in great form, they are a team that fights and makes it hard for the opposition, add to that the loss of Jose Fonte to suspension and it was a potential minefield.
Ronald Koeman had said he wasn't going to use squad rotation over the busy festive period, but his team changes showed that he was only partially telling the truth, he kept the same formation from the Everton game, but made several changes, Gardos for Fonte was of course unavoidable if he wanted to retain that central defensive three, Schneiderlin for Reed predictable, but Mane for Long less so, what was a surprise though was that Wanyama did not come straight back in meaning Saints had their strongest bench in a while with the fit again Tadic joining Long and Wanyama.
The opening exchanges were lively and both sides could have scored, Alderweireld with a lob back into the box which almost caught out Speroni and ex Saint Puncheon whose shot should have been better and was a lot more comfortable for Forster than it should have been.
But it was Saints who looked the more livelier and disciplined and the opening goal was a peach in its build up. Pelle won a header and James Ward Prowse played a quick exchange of passes before slotting the ball perfectly for Mane to time his run, round Speroni and slot home from an angle, a well worked goal and one that Mane needed to show supporters that he can offer a lot to this team.
At the break though, although Saints had controlled the game, there was still that feelling that perhaps we had not pressed home our advantage as much as we should have and that Palace might come back in the second half.
These feelings were soon disparaged and the game was effectively won withing 8 minutes of the restart, on 48 minutes it was mane again at the heart of the move, he got the ball out wide, took on and beat his man and got to the byeline, his pull back could have been hit by Pelle, but the italian missed his kick and the ball went past him for Ryan Bertrand to smack in (and smack is the best word to describe this) another well worked goal.
The third saw Ward Prowse again deliver, this time from a corner and Toby Alderweireld towered to head home his first goal for the club.
The game was now well won and Ronald Koeman knew this and was mindful of the need to conserve players, with 35 minutes to go he brought on Wanyama and took off Steven Davis a good move both from the point Davis after injury needed a rest and Wanyama after suspension needed a warm up run out. Long for Pelle with 20 minutes to go was also another good move both tactically and in terms of keeping both players sharp.
The lead could have been extended but the emphasis was on keeping it tight and avoiding unneccessary injury or bookings, the only blip on the second half being Palace's goal 4 minutes from time, but they were never going to get back in it from here and Koeman's reaction was to bring on Jason McCarthy for his first ever taste of first team action.
Overall a pleasing win for Saints in many respects, it was once again a team performance with everyone from Fraser Forster in goal to Pelle up front doing their job, making sure that Palace didnt get a foothold and putting the game, their was a confidence in the Saints team that suggested that the second half of the season could well be better than the first.
That is backed up when you look at the fact that Fonte, Tadic, Wanyama and Long were not in the starting line up, add to that Jack Cork and Jay Rodriguez returning from injury, the addition of Eljero Elia and possible other signings and we have come through a tough patch and are in good shape.
But perhaps the most pleasing point of the day was that several of the players who have come in for criticism from some sections of the fan base played big parts in the win.
Fraser Forster showed that he is a quality keeper and although he did not have anything spectacular to do, he did the basics well and when called upon did it confidently, in midfield James Ward Prowse has been accused of lacking a little something, in this game he showed he has it and the delivery for the first goal is something that perhaps we have lacked, ie someone who can pick a through ball, that is something Mane clearly thrives on.
Lastly Sadio Mane, in some quarters he has been slaughtered, but those who had already decided he was not very good (probably those who said the same about Jay Rodriguez and Pelle to name but two) had not taken into account the type of player he was, not to mention that his team mates around him were playing just as badly. In this formation he thrives and he will be a useful member of this squad.
So a good result for Saints and one that was much needed as we go into a difficult run of games, but we go into them in good shape and still in the top four, our next fibe games are all against teams in the top ten at the moment, I would say that we should fear none of them and as Matt Le Tissier mentioned on Sky yesterday, by mid January we will have played Man United twice, Arsenal twice and only have trips to City and Chelsea to fear, that will be a lot less than many around us.