Southampton 3 Albion 0 - Report and pictures
Two James Ward-Prowse dead-balls and a Dusan Tadic goal ended Albion's unbeaten run of four games at St Mary's.
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Outplayed for the majority of the match, the Baggies rarely threatened Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal and looked unusually shaky at the back.
Ward-Prowse got the home side up and running in the fifth minute, curling in a free-kick at goalkeeper Boaz Myhill's near post to give Saints the lead.
He then converted a penalty won by left wing-back Matt Targett ten minutes before half-time.
Both the free-kick and the penalty were given away by Albion right-back Craig Dawson, who had a match to forget.
Even though head coach Tony Pulis - celebrating his 58th birthday today - made three early substitutions, the damage had already been done.
Saints substitute Tadic wrapped things up in the 72nd minute with his second goal in as many matches, latching on to Steven Davis's cute reverse pass in the box.
Albion (4-4-1-1): Myhill; Dawson, Olsson (Rondon 45), McAuley, Evans; Sessegnon (Berahino 63), Yacob, Fletcher (c) (Brunt 45), McClean; Gardner; Anichebe.
Unused subs: Foster, Chester, Lambert, McManaman.
Southampton (3-5-2): Forster; Bertrand, Fonte (c) Van Dijk; Targett, S Davis (Romeu 73), Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Cedric (Martina 84) Long, Mane (Tadic 63).
Unused subs: K Davis, Yoshida, Pelle, Juanmi.
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 29,622[/breakout]
In the middle of an energy-sapping run of five games in 15 days, Pulis made three changes to the team that drew at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Dropping record-signing Salomon Rondon to the bench, he handed Victor Anichebe just his second start of the season, while Chris Brunt was rested and Jonny Evans moved to left-back.
Craig Gardner was rewarded for his goal against Chelsea with a starting place and Stephane Sessegnon came in for the injured James Morrison.
Southampton brought in Victor Wanyama and Ward-Prowse in midfield to replace Oriol Romeu and Jordy Clasie, but stuck with the 3-5-2 formation that proved so successful against Watford.
Koeman says playing three at the back enables his side to retain more of the ball, and Saints dominated possession until the fifth minute.
Dawson fouled Sadio Mane on the right-hand corner of the penalty area, with Ward-Prowse known for his set-pieces.
And the 21-year-old Englishman stepped up and curled a delightful, dipping shot inside Myhill's near post to give Saints an early lead.
Gardner was playing the attacking midfield role usually reserved for Morrison - tucking into midfield in defence and running beyond the ball.
Albion attacked and he nearly levelled things up just five minutes later, heading James McClean's cross narrowly wide.
The former Sunderland man wanted a penalty mid-way through the first half when he nipped in front of Ward-Prowse's clearance.
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Not only did the challenge look outside the box, but Gardner also went down too theatrically and referee Martin Atkinson waved play on.
The Baggies were looking panicky at the back, however, and former Baggies striker Shane Long nearly capitalised on a missed Myhill punch from a corner, before Southampton won a penalty of their own.
When left wing-back Matt Targett made a bursting run behind Dawson, he got the wrong side of the defender, and after a splitting pass from Long, the pair fell to the floor under a clash of legs.
Although Targett appeared to jump into Dawson, this time Taylor pointed to the spot, allowing Ward-Prowse to step up and beat Myhill for the second time and extend the home side's lead.
Saints nearly added a third a minute later when Targett's low drilled effort from inside the box beat Myhill, only for a back-tracking McClean to somehow clear the shot off the line.
Pulis made two changes at half-time, bringing Rondon and Brunt on for Darren Fletcher and Jonas Olsson, and the Baggies moved to three at the back in a bid to match Southampton's formation.
A congested midfield enticed both teams to be more direct, and Sessegnon - who had been moved inside during the reshuffle - blazed over a half-chance when a long-ball fell to him on the edge.
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Mane and Long were having more joy, though, and the Senegalese striker shot wide before nearly finding the Irishman with a little lob over the back four.
Desperate to make a fight of it, Pulis sent Saido Berahino on just after the hour mark, but it was Southampton who still looked more like scoring.
It was Tadic - who came on at the same time as Berahino - who wrapped the game up in the 72nd minute.
Davis picked the ball up around the half-way line and was allowed to carry it into the Albion box before playing a crafty reverse pass to the Serbian.
Tadic made no mistake from a narrow angle, putting the result to bed before the game petered out in the closing stages.
Koeman's side started the day on the same points as Albion, and have now picked up three consecutive home wins in the league.
The Baggies, however, have now gone six away matches in the league without a win, and they travel to Championship-strugglers Bristol City in an FA Cup third round replay in just three days time.
