Juric watches from stands as Southampton hold Fulham

Southampton held Fulham to a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage in their first Premier League match since manager Russell Martin’s departure.

The hosts controlled large spells of the contest, but the Saints, under interim boss Simon Rusk, pulled off a resolute defensive display to keep their opponents out on Sunday.

The Cottagers were restricted to speculative efforts in the first half but went closest in the 67th minute as Harry Wilson’s close-range effort was kept out by the returning Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Adama Traore was inches away from a breakthrough in the closing minutes, but the visitors held on for their first point since a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion last month.

While Southampton remain bottom of the table with six points from 17 matches, Fulham move to ninth with 25 points.

How the match unfolded

Fulham started the brighter of the two sides, with Southampton managing to limit them largely to shots from distance in the first half.

Wilson saw two strikes from the edge of the box sail over the Saints’ goal in the space of two minutes while Iwobi narrowly missed in his attempt to curl a shot into the top corner just after the half-hour mark.

Southampton pushed forward after the break, eventually testing Bernd Leno for the first time in the 56th minute, though Adam Armstrong’s effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

Ramsdale made his best save of the match to deny Wilson shortly after, as the midfielder met a Traore cross at the far post with a fierce shot.

Fulham had one last chance for a breakthrough with three minutes left on the clock when Traore picked up possession at the edge of the box, but his left-footed strike sailed inches wide of the goal.

Encouragement for Juric

Newly appointed Southampton manager Ivan Juric only had a watching brief at Craven Cottage as Rusk continued in interim charge for the second consecutive match.

But the Croatian would have taken plenty of encouragement from the performance – especially considering the manner in which Southampton conceded five in the first half against Tottenham Hotspur in the final match of Martin’s reign.

Having also given Liverpool a run for their money in the 2-1 EFL Cup defeat on Wednesday, Juric will hope to build on the two positive performances as he attempts to guide the bottom-placed club to safety.

Ramsdale returned in goal for the Saints, wearing a special four-fingered glove to protect his broken finger, and played a big part in the draw, while Yukinari Sugawara and Kyle Walker-Peters also impressed after coming in as wing-backs.

The Saints will now hope to produce more of the same against West Ham, with their new boss expected to be in the dugout for the first time at St. Mary’s Stadium on Boxing Day.

Frustration for Silva

Fulham came into the fixture having scored in their last 15 Premier League outings and would have fancied their chances to keep that run going against a Southampton defence that conceded 36 goals in 16 matches.

Though the hosts dominated the possession and chances in the first half, Marco Silva would not have been pleased with his side’s toothless display as they only really tested Ramsdale once, when Iwobi’s cross whistled dangerously close to the goal in the third minute.

The Nigeria international would go close with a strike from outside the box again before the end of the half as Silva’s side failed to break through despite the introductions of Raul Jiminez and Traore in the second half.

Wilson was also a threat, missing his own gilt-edged chance to snatch a win in the second half, but he could not beat Ramsdale after finding a way through Southampton’s stubborn defence.

A win would have moved them level on points with reigning champions Manchester City in seventh place, but Fulham will now hope to get back on track when they face west London rivals Chelsea on Thursday.

Club reports

Fulham report | Southampton report

What the managers said

Interim manager Simon Rusk: “We wanted to build on solidity for the gorup, find that balance. We’re the first team to deliver a clean sheet here [Craven Cottage] this season. We’re delighted with that, hopefully it can be a catalyst for the players to build on and move forwards.”

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Fulham drew a Premier League match 0-0 for the first time since May against Brentford – the Cottagers were on the joint-longest scoring streak in England’s top four tiers before blanking in today’s draw with Southampton (15 matches – level with Chelsea).

Southampton recorded a 0-9 draw in the Premier League for the first time since doing so at Old Trafford against Manchester United in March 2023; only Everton (9) have failed to score in more English top-flight matches this season than the Saints (8) however.

Southampton completed 80 per cent of their passes in today’s draw with Fulham (335/418), their lowest pass accuracy in a league match since May 2023 against Liverpool under Ruben Selles (74 per cent), Russell Martin’s predecessor.

Nine different Premier League matches have seen one or fewer first half total shots on target this season with Southampton involved in three of them, more than any other team (1 today v Fulham, in December v Wolves and in August v Newcastle).

(EPL)