Heineken Cup review:Following the euphoric scenes at the end of their win over Munster last weekend, Northampton were brought back to earth with a bump and will leave southern France battered and bruised.
Perpignan, shocked by Treviso last time out, made sure Pool Oneremains wide open as they ran out 29-13 winners and denied the Saints a losing bonus point.
Chris Ashton and Brian Mujati scored either side of half-time as Saints desperately tried to stay in touch with the French champions.
But Perpignan did not relinquish their lead from the seventh minute as they atoned for their shock loss in style.
The Perpignan scrum earned a penalty try and David Marty also scored as the hosts led 20-8 at half-time before Jerome Porical completed a 19-point haul in the second half.
For Northampton, the game was in stark contrast to their opener, when they lowered the colours of two-time European champions Munster.
In Pool Five,James Gaskell further enhanced his fast-growing reputation with a virtuoso performance to help Sale to a famous 27-26 victory over Cardiff.
The 19-year-old lock from Sandbach, who stands 6ft 7in, created a try for skipper Dean Schofield in the 37th minute with a fine run and then went over himself shortly after the restart as Sale responded in style to last week’s thumping defeat in Toulouse.
Fijian flanker Sisa Koyamaibole got the ball rolling with their first try in the 33rd minute before Gaskell seized centre stage to illuminate an impressive performance from Kingsley Jones’ men.
Cardiff, who won their opening match against Harlequins last weekend, hit back through Andy Powell in the 50th minute and Robin Sowden-Taylor then pounced on a loose ball to claim their second try in the 79th minute.
Ben Blair converted to cut the gap to one point, but Sale held on to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
And the Dragons kept their hopes of making progress from Pool Twoalive with a deserved 22-14 win over Glasgow.
The defeat ensured that Glasgow have no realistic chance of qualification for the knock-out stages.
Three tries before the interval gave the Dragons a healthy half-time lead as their backs produced their best performance for some time, but they were unable to add to their score in the second half as the Scottish visitors produced a late but unsuccessful rally.
