Fulham 0-0 Southampton: Juric watches on as visitors hold on for draw

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

The hosts controlled large spells of the contest, but the Saints, watched by incoming manager Ivan Juric from the stands, pulled off a resolute defensive display to keep their opponents out on Sunday.

The Cottagers were restricted to speculative efforts in the first half when Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi tried their luck without success.

They went closest in the 67th minute, though, as Wilson’s close-range effort was kept out by the returning Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Adama Traore came off the bench in the second half and 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 last month.

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

Solid.

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 22, 2024

Data Debrief: Fulham’s scoring streak ends

Heading into Sunday’s contest, Fulham had scored in each of their last 15 Premier League matches, with a 1-0 opening defeat to Manchester United the only game in which they had failed to find the back of the net.

However, Southampton, who had conceded 36 goals in 16 matches, put on an organised performance to snap the Cottagers’ scoring streak.

But, the Saints will hope to improve their attacking side under new boss Juric as they recorded just a single shot on target in London, generating an xG of 0.26 from five attempts during the game.

Fulham, meanwhile, registered 16 shots with five of them on target, and failing to score despite an xG of 1.04.