Southampton secured a crucial point after holding Fulham to a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage in their first Premier League fixture following the departure of manager Russell Martin.
Despite Fulham controlling much of the match, the visitors, observed by their incoming manager Ivan Juric from the stands, produced a solid defensive display to thwart their hosts’ efforts on Sunday.
Fulham had several attempts in the first half, but Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi couldn’t find the target with their shots.
The closest they came to breaking the deadlock was in the 67th minute, when Wilson’s close-range shot was brilliantly saved by Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
In the final stages of the match, substitute Adama Traore nearly found the net, but Southampton held firm to earn their first point since a 1-1 draw against Brighton the previous month.
With six points from 17 matches, Southampton remain at the bottom of the Premier League table, while Fulham’s point sees them rise to ninth with 25 points.
Prior to this match, Fulham had scored in each of their last 15 league games, with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United being their only scoreless outing.
However, Southampton’s well-organized defense ended their scoring streak.
Under new manager Juric, Southampton will look to improve their attacking play, having registered just one shot on target from five attempts, generating an xG of 0.26.
Fulham, on the other hand, recorded 16 shots, five of which were on target, but couldn’t capitalize on an xG of 1.04.
