Jhon Durán, so often Aston Villa’s ‘super sub’, scored on his first Premier League start of the season to inflict defeat on a Southampton team whose performance their manager Russell Martin described as “madness”.

The Colombia striker has played 50 league game for Villa but started only three of them, so here was a gentle reminder of what he can do from the first minute, albeit against opposition who failed to lay a glove on Villa.

There is little doubt over Ollie Watkins being Unai Emery’s No 1 but competition will not harm Villa as they get over their mini-blip. Successive wins this week means they are back within touching distance of the Champions League places.

This time last week they were said to be in crisis, yet this season a couple of wins have propelled teams up the table. Villa are fifth which, depending on Uefa co-efficients, could be enough to retain a place among the European elite.

“It was not a good day with the weather and it was very windy but the supporters gave us energy,” said Emery. “With this win, we are starting to feel better and we are improving. Each step we have to try to get comfortable. We are fighting [in the table] with Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Brighton and we have to try to be there.”

In Durán, Emery has a striker who has listened to his instructions on how to work in Villa’s system. He was as impressed with Durán’s work-rate as much as his 24th-minute finish. “We have to try and stop his impatient moments sometimes, that’s something natural because he’s young and he wants everything quick,” said Emery.

As for Southampton, they had themselves to blame again for defeat, with an elementary mistake leading to the decisive goal. They still need five points to better Sheffield United’s nine at Christmas last season. Getting them will need a change of approach.

Will they better the worst Premier League points total of all time, Derby County’s 11 in 2007-08? Martin’s team need two wins to match that figure and it is difficult to see where the victories will come from.

They had just four shots on goal at Villa Park, with none on target. Put into context, Villa had kept just one Premier League clean sheet going into this game, but Emiliano Martínez had a quiet afternoon – he was doing solo exercises to keep warm as Storm Darragh swept in from the west.

‘Another mistake and not a shot on target’

Durán’s goal came after a couple of minutes of chaos at the back for Southampton, which has been their downfall this season. Their best chance, from Ryan Manning, had come from a route-one punt downfield, yet they continue to play out from the back and eventually run into trouble.

Saints goalkeeper Joe Lumley tried to play the ball out and was caught by Boubacar Kamara, with John McGinn’s shot saved after the ball broke his way.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis should have cleared the next attack but tried to get Diego Carlos’s long ball forward under control and paid the price. Durán seized possession and used his pace to stay beyond the Southampton backline before finishing past Lumley. It was his first goal since October 30 and ninth of the season.

“Another mistake and not a shot on target,” Martin said. “It’s madness really, for the amount of times we stole the ball and some of the football we played. We just give teams a lead too many times with such poor goals.

“You can accept a really good goal or individual quality but the goal is so poor. We kick it long to the two smallest players on the pitch and it comes back and it is two-v-one with the striker and he scores. It’s madness.”

Villa were barely threatened in the second half, although they lost Leon Bailey to a hamstring injury, which is a concern heading into the Christmas fixtures.