Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler was delighted with the maturity of his side as they ran out 4-0 winners at Southampton.

The visitors dominated the game from the off, creating a host of early chances and taking the lead in the first half through Joao Pedro’s clipped finish.

This superiority continued into the second half, with Georginio Rutter doubling their advantage and this was soon followed by Kaoru Mitoma’s third goal in as many games.

Jack Hinshelwood capped things off eight minutes from time with a driven shot to make it a dream afternoon for Brighton, and Hurzeler had nothing but praise for his side.

He told BBC Match of the Day: “It was a very mature performance, we controlled the game, in all phases we created chances.

“We outfought them, we outsprinted them, we were aggressive, that was the key to winning this game.

“It was a different style today, because they went man to man, we had to find solutions in personal duels, and the players did that quite well so I was happy with that performance.”

Joao Pedro, in for the injured Danny Welbeck up front, got the ball rolling for the Seagulls with his 50th goal in English football and Hurzeler emphasised his importance to the squad.

He said: “All the players were sharp but Joao always wants to play, he is a very important player. Today he had the chance and he did very well.”

This resounding win made it three consecutive wins for Brighton since the heavy 7-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest, and the Austrian hopes his side can continue their momentum when they host AFC Bournemouth in three days.

He said: “It is very important that we go step by step, game by game, Tuesday is the next chance to prove the form we are in so it is important to keep this momentum, to know why we have the momentum, to do the basic things right.”

Ivan Juric afforded no sympathy to his Southampton side after their heavy defeat, admitting the performance was “a disaster”.

“It was just a huge difference”, Juric told BBC Sport.

“There is nothing more to say, really from the beginning to the end there was an incredible difference between two teams. It was an awful game, a disaster and we played really bad."

“Everything disappointed me today because we were no good before, later I think for me, my staff, the players it is a really bad moment and we did a really bad game.”