Marco Silva’s moments of genius are heralded by the Hammersmith End choir, but his decision to radically rotate a side that had held Liverpool at Anfield allowed Southampton to scrap for only their sixth Premier League point as Ivan Juric watched his new charges frustrate Fulham at a chilly Craven Cottage. The Whites, with Josh King and Tom Cairney preferred to Andreas Pereira and Emile Smith Rowe in midfield, were thwarted by a great goalkeeping display from Aaron Ramsdale as Simon Rusk secured a precious point for the struggling Saints.
The England international tipped a curler from Alex Iwobi wide of the far post in the fourth minute and made a sensational second half stop from Harry Wilson, but the hosts didn’t do enough to break down a well-drilled visiting defence. Teenager King looked as bright as he was at Birmingham on his senior debut during his first Fulham start, biting into tackles and threading passes between the pink shirts, but Silva’s side struggled to create clear-cut chances. Wilson whistled one over the bar before Iwobi came close with another effort from the edge of the area, but the Nigerian international also wasted good positions with wayward shots.
King typified how Fulham upped the ante after the interval producing a peach of a cross that found Iwobi at the far post, but Southampton stood firm. The travelling fans celebrated their only shot on target, a tame drive at Leno from Adam Armstrong, but their discipline at other end of the pitch was commendable. Ramsdale received acclaim after somehow stopping Wilson from ghosting in at the back post after Adama Traore’s floated ball had caught his defenders unaware. It was a wonderful reaction save.
Raul Jimenez looked far more likely to break the deadlock than Rodrigo Muniz, who started in place of the Mexican after scoring at Liverpool, but the hosts struggled to get numbers into the penalty area until the closing stages. Martial Godo looked lively on his first Premier League appearance and created a late opening for Traore, who dragged a low drive agonisingly past the far post.
There was still time for the Saints to threaten a winner from a pair of stoppage-time set-pieces, but there was to be no winner in a game that was badly devoid of top-tier quality. Juric, who watched from the Johnny Haynes press box as he awaits a work permit to take over from Rusk, will hope that he can sprinkle some of his Torino magic rather than the reprise a ropey spell at Roma, which ended after just two months. The Croatian has his work cut out to keep Saints in the Premier League, but they already look much more competitive having sacked Russell Martin.
Silva’s selections ahead of a busy period of festive period were surprising. King showed the sort of drive and dimension that has seen him star for Fulham’s academy, but few of his team-mates moved the ball as swiftly as the teenager. That made it easy for the visitors to get behind the ball and record a creditable clean sheet, with the Fulham’s forward play only perking up once Jimenez, Traore and Godo were summoned from the bench. This felt like a missed opportunity to climb a congested table before Boxing Day’s derby – especially when Wilson limped off clutching his hamstring and substitute Sasa Lukic went down on his shoulder.
**FULHAM (4-2-3-1):** Leno; Castagne, Robinson, Diop, Bassey; Berge (Lukic 75), Cairney (Godo 76); Wilson (Vinicius 87), Iwobi, King (Traore 62); Muniz (Jimenez 62). **Subs (not used):** Benda, Andersen, R. Sessegnon, Cuenca.
**BOOKED:** Jimenez.
**SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-1-2):** Ramsdale, Wood, Bednarek, Harwood-Belis; Walker-Peters, Sugawara (Bree 80), Downes, Aribo (Ugochukwu 57); Fernandes; Dibling (Archer 45), Armstrong (Onachu 90+1). **Subs (not used):** McCarthy, Manning, Sulamena, Fraser, Lallana.
**BOOKED:** Downes, Sugawara, Ugochukwu.
**REFEREE:** Tim Robinson (West Sussex).
**ATTENDANCE:** 26,819.