Che Adams 8, Stuart Armstrong 8; Sean Longstaff 3, Jeff Hendrick 4: Southampton v Newcastle player ratings

Saints go top of the Premier League for the first time

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  SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Alex McCarthy - 6, Got away with one when he missed a corner delivery, but was convincing in his play outside of that. Getty

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  Kyle Walker-Peters - 7, Provided good width going forward and played a key role in winning the ball back for the opener. PA

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  Jan Bednarek - 6, Was weak in his play at points, but put in a performance that was solid overall. Getty

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  Jannik Vestergaard - 7, Was dominant in his defending and comfortable with the ball at his feet. PA

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  Jack Stephens - 6, Filling in at left-back, he was strong defensively, while leaving most of the attacking on the left to whichever winger was in front of him. PA

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  Stuart Armstrong - 8, Showed real quality on the ball and put in some great defensive work. Crowned off a great performance by scoring Southampton’s second. AP

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  James Ward-Prowse - 6, Did well with his general play but was wasteful with his final pass at times. Getty

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  Oriol Romeu - 7, Took one for the team and was booked for a cynical foul on Allan Saint-Maximin and broke Newcastle’s play up well throughout. AFP

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  Moussa Djenepo - 7, Couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen whenever he had the ball. Showed quick feet and the threat he can pose, causing Jacob Murphy plenty of problems. Getty

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  Theo Walcott - 7, Got a good early assist and played with plenty of energy, though he missed a good chance. Reuters

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  Che Adams - 8, Looked full of confidence, which will have been helped by his brilliant finish early on. Getty

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  SUBS: Nathan Redmond (Djenepo 74’) – N/R, Came on and pressed well as Southampton maintained their intensity until the end. Reuters

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  Shane Long (Walcott 87’) - N/R, Got a couple of minutes under his belt and helped Southampton see out the game. Getty

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  NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Karl Darlow - 6, Made some good saves, it would be a little bit harsh to blame him for conceding from Adams’ shot. Should have been punished for a shocking attempt at claiming a cross. Getty

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  Jacob Murphy - 5, Looked fairly good going forward but really struggled to deal with Djenepo’s threat. AP

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  Fabian Schar - 5, Was inconsistent in this game and was saved by the referee after some indecisive defending. AFP

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  Jamaal Lascelles - 7, The only player in Newcastle’s defensive line who didn’t have a moment of madness, also made some superb interventions. Reuters

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  Federico Fernandez - 6, Played a sloppy pass that could easily have been punished, was booked for a foul on Walcott. AP

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  Jamal Lewis - 6, Fernandez’s booking bailed him out after a stupid mistake. He had indecisive moments but did get some good balls into the box. AFP

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  Sean Longstaff - 3, Was unable to match Southampton’s energy and had an absolute howler for the game’s second goal, losing the ball on the edge of his own box. His night was rounded off by a yellow for a poor foul on Ward-Prowse. AP

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  Jeff Hendrick - 4, Was completely off the pace for large periods of his time on the pitch and looked really sloppy in some of his play. Getty

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  Miguel Almiron - 5, Had an absolute shocker for the opening goal and spent the rest of the game trying to make up for it, which he didn’t manage. Getty

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  Allan Saint-Maximin - 6, Was Newcastle’s biggest threat in this game, but that potentially says more about his teammates’ performances than his. PA

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  Callum Wilson - 4, Was invisible for most of the game, which was down to a lack of service and an inability to make the most of it whenever the ball did get to him. AFP

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  SUBS: Matty Longstaff (Hendrick 61’) - 5, Injected some more energy into midfield but couldn’t do enough to turn the game around. Getty

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  Andy Carroll (Wilson 78’) – N/R, Battled well and provided some good link up play but didn’t get any chances. Reuters

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  Joelinton (Murphy 79’) – N/R, His brilliant header was denied by a superb save from McCarthy. Getty

Ralph Hasenhuttl described his Southampton side's form as scary after a 2-0 win over Newcastle United put them top of the Premier League for the first time ever on Friday.

An early volley by Che Adams and a late strike by Stuart Armstrong hardly did justice to a vibrant Saints display as they bagged their fifth league win of the season.

Despite losing their opening two games, Southampton have 16 points from eight matches and are above champions Liverpool on goal difference. They will stay there until Sunday at least if Everton fail to beat visitors Manchester United on Saturday.

"Amazing what my team does at the moment," the Austrian coach, who has transformed Southampton in the past 12 months after a 9-0 home defeat by Leicester City, told Sky Sports.

"We maybe could have scored a few more today but the rest was nearly perfect. Good game management and everyone was on the highest level. It's a bit scary what we're doing at the moment but not so surprising as I see them working.

"We've invested so much in this time together. We have made big steps forward and this is not a coincidence. With the ball and without the ball, we are very brave. Maybe playing without fans has helped us because there is a lack of stress. Now we are playing a complete game."

Assessing the individual performances from Friday night, Danny Lewis provides his player ratings in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.