QPR 0-1 Southampton

Ronald Koeman's men are up to third

A dramatic finish to an otherwise low-quality game saw the in-form Sadio Mane give Southampton a 1-0 victory at struggling QPR.

Mane struck in the third of four added-on minutes at the end of the game, latching on to a Maya Yoshida pass to hold off the challenge of Nedum Onuoha and beat home keeper Rob Green with a rasping drive.

Rangers had gone into the game under the charge of caretaker manager Chris Ramsey, following the departure of Harry Redknapp, with deadline day having passed quietly for once at Loftus Road.

And Ramsey opted to make a big call as he brought Adel Taarabt back in from the cold to start, with Steven Caulker, Armand Traore and Matt Phillips also recalled.

The Saints, meanwhile, were able to welcome back key midfielder Victor Wanyama after injury, but left-back Ryan Bertrand was ruled out through suspension and loan signing Filip Djuricic was sidelined as he waited on a work permit.

Matt Targett and Mane were also handed starts, with Morgan Schneiderlin fit to take a place on the bench.

And it was the Saints who opened the brighter, with Graziano Pelle testing Green, before the home keeper wandered off his line and almost allowed Eljero Elia to break the deadlock.

With 20 minutes played the unfortunate Targett was caught by a flying elbow form Phillips and after lengthy treatment was forced off on a stretcher, with Florin Gardos taking his place.

Still it was the visitors carrying the greater threat, with Green forced into another smart save from the lively Elia and from the resulting James Ward-Prowse corner Jose Fonte left the home crossbar shaking as he smashed a volley against the woodwork.

And deep into stoppage time at the end of the first half it was Ward-Prowse himself who went close to opening the scoring, as he curled a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide after the industrious Elia had been brought down.

After a stodgy start to the second half it was the hosts who had the first chance, as Nathaniel Clyne dithered on a back-header and Traore headed into the side-netting when he could and should have done better.

Both sides then threw on substitutes to try and shake things up and 17 minutes from time Charlie Austin, who saw little of the ball throughout, was somehow denied by an amazing save from Fraser Forster.

Joey Barton played the ball goalwards and Austin got a touch on it from close range and seemed certain to have given his side the lead, only for Forster to push out a hand and deflect the ball over the crossbar while he was falling the wrong way.

And that save proved to be absolutely crucial when right at the death the deadlock was finally broken, with Mane scoring in his fourth consecutive Premier League game, having just returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.

However, his later intervention was not the end of the drama, as Rangers had the ball in the net from the final attack of the game, only for Onuoha to be penalised for a foul on Forster as Fonte knocked the ball into his own goal.

The victory lifted Ronald Koeman's up to third place in the table and got them back on track following a shock 1-0 home loss to Swansea City last weekend.

For the R's, they remain in the relegation places and are now without a win in their last six league games, with the prospect of a new manager the only bright spot for the Loftus Road faithful.