Goals from Adam Armstrong and Will Smallbone ended Southampton’s horror September and put them on course for a 3-1 victory over Leeds.
Armstrong needed just 104 seconds to chip Saints ahead before Smallbone’s low finish and another Armstrong effort – via a deflection – put the hosts in control.
Pascal Struijk pulled one back for Leeds but Southampton ended their four-match winless run and halted a six-game unbeaten stint for their West Yorkshire visitors.
Saints had not won in a dismal September to puncture their promotion ambitions but they started with a bang.
Kyle Walker-Peters spotted Adam Armstrong’s run in behind with a perfect through ball.
The attacker strode towards goal and then deftly clipped over Illan Meslier for his sixth of the season and ended Leeds’ 362 minutes without conceding.
Leeds attempted to hit back when Georginio Rutter drove in from the right flank and forced Gavin Bazunu into a full-length dive, and Sam Byram sliced wide.
But the visitors’ ascendancy was cut back down as they conceded twice in four minutes.
Kamaldeen Sulemana produced a first-half performance that brought back memories of Sadio Mane – and had a hand in both goals.
In the 31st minute he collected a ball from Stuart Armstrong, darted towards the box before standing up his defender and laying across the area for Smallbone.
The midfielder angled the shot perfectly across the face of the goal and into the bottom corner for his first league goal for Southampton.
In their next attack, Sulemana swung a low ball on the angle to fellow winger Adam Armstrong who made Bryam lose his footing twice before firing past Meslier via a deflection off Struijk .
Saints could have gone in at the break 4-0 up had Carlos Alcaraz’s back post header not been tipped over by the goalkeeper.
Leeds coach Daniel Farke kept his side in the dressing room until the last possible moment and his extra details worked 13 minutes after the restart.
A corner bobbled around the box before Struijk pulled the ball down on the swivel to poke home.
Daniel James fired wide and Joel Piroe stabbed straight at Bazunu as United threatened to turn things around.
But the clash petered out with a half-chance for Rutter as Saints won at home for just the second time this season to ease the pressure on Russell Martin.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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