Southampton have suffered a 1-0 defeat to Valencia in their Audi quattro Cup semi-final clash in Austria.

The Saints will now face tournament hosts Red Bull Salzburg in the third-place playoff this evening.

Both sides looked to get on the ball in the early stages of the 45-minute match, with Alvaro Negredo in particular looking to make an impact, but his cutback was well read by Jose Fonte at the back.

Fonte again needed to be alert to deny Antonio Barragan, while Sadio Mane - receiving a spicy reaction on his return to Salzburg - looked to get involved in an end-to-end match.

Harrison Reed capitalised on Graziano Pelle's smart flick-on to fire away another shot at goal, which was well handled by Jaume Domenech.

Southampton really upped the tempo as the contest wore on, hitting the bar twice in quick succession through Mane and Fonte, but it was the La Liga side who took the lead.

Pablo Piatti smashed the ball home following a scramble inside the area, despite Paulo Gazzaniga's best efforts, which proved to be enough for Los Che to progress into tonight's final against Werder Bremen.