Southampton goes 3rd in best-ever topflight start

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) Southampton is celebrating its best start to a topflight campaign after beating Hull 4-1 to go third in the English Premier League on Saturday.

�Morgan Schneiderlin headed Southampton in front in the 16th minute, Rickie Lambert's penalty on the half-hour mark doubled the advantage, and a fine solo goal from Adam Lallana capped a fine first-half display.

Yannick Sagbo pulled one back for Hull early in the second half but Steven Davis restored the three-goal cushion in the 88th.

A fourth successive league win saw Southampton eclipse its previous best start in the topflight in 1983-84 when the south-coast team finished second.

Hull dropped to 12th place.