Southampton

The point stretched the Saints’ unbeaten run to 18 matches but with 75 per cent of possession, they were left frustrated after the match as Canaries substitute Josh Sargent’s late goal ensured honours ended even.

“I am really proud of our performance today, even though we have only taken a point,” said Saints boss Martin. “We should certainly have won the game, I don’t think anyone would argue with that. I thought we played really well, there was a good flow to our play. I certainly enjoyed watching my team out there.

“We controlled the game, we played it around really well and I thought our goal was a really good move. We created other good chances and it was frustrating that we didn’t make the most of them. When we did get some on target, Angus Gunn make some good saves.

“I was surprised with the way Norwich set up if I am being honest. This is as quiet as I have known this place and I have played plenty of games here so feel frustrated, but at the same time very proud of the players.”

Martin is sweating on the fitness of Samuel Edozie, who was substituted midway through the first half after being caught late by Jack Stacey.

“That was a naughty challenge, a red card challenge in my opinion,” he said. “If we had had VAR here I think he would have gone, but having said that you never really know with VAR, do you?”

Southampton dominated the match for long periods but had to wait until the 70th minute to get their noses in front.

The excellent Kyle Walker-Peters was the architect as he made it to the byline before delivering a low cross which deflected off Grant Hanley into the path of Adam Armstrong, who had the simple task of volleying home from close range.

The goal was no more than the Saints deserved and they looked well set to take all three points – but Norwich had other ideas and got themselves back on level terms from a rare attack eight minutes later.

A fine move through the middle involving Gabriel Sara and Jon Rowe ended with Sargent slipping the ball past Gavin Bazunu.

It was a sweet moment for the American, who had only been on the pitch for 12 minutes and was playing at Carrow Road for the first time since picking up a nasty ankle injury in August.

“It gives everyone here a big boost to see Josh back on the pitch, he’s a top quality player and a good character too,” said Norwich head coach David Wagner. “He hasn’t had much training but he was ready to come on and showed his quality with a good run and an excellent finish.

“I think it was a solid point for us, a deserved point. I thought it was an excellent defensive performance and we also threatened in transitions.

“We decided to go into this game with a 5-4-1 formation because we thought that was the right approach given the quality of the opposition and the form they have been in.

“We knew that would mean less possession for us but we have taken a point from the game and could even have taken all three, so in the end it was a good decision.”

Saints suffered their first defeat of the Championship campaign as they were hammered 5-0 by the brilliant Black Cats at the Stadium of Light.

Martin’s side endured a horror start, going behind to Jack Clarke’s opener after just 52 seconds before Pierre Ekwah added a second for the hosts six minutes later.

Southampton then attempted to get some control of the game but conceded a third on the stroke of half-time, when former West Ham midfielder Ekwah hit his second.

Bradley Dack added a fourth immediately after the restart before 16-year-old substitute Chris Rigg rounded off the rout deep in stoppage time.

Martin said: “I feel really sorry for the supporters that came, they were amazing right to the end and we have to make sure this is the toughest day we have and we have to learn from that.

“Initially it’s really difficult to analyse because I’ll have to watch it back, but when you concede two goals early it completely changes the complex of the game.

“The one thing we spoke about is starting well. It’s a young team at Sunderland and when the wind is in their sails they’re very good but when they have a difficult start they can then find it tough to get the game back

“But the game just went for them. They had momentum after their start, brilliant momentum and we didn’t have enough of that.

“Everything they did well – they fought, they came out on top of duels, they worked so hard – we didn’t, we went in self-preservation mode, which I think is still a hangover from last season.

“It’s the first defeat but the manner of it really hurts.”

The win extended Sunderland’s unbeaten run to three games and Tony Mowbray was delighted after what he says has been a “tough week” off the pitch due to transfer speculation surrounding a number of his players.

The Black Cats lost Ross Stewart to Southampton on deadline day but also had interest in a number of other key players, including Ekwah, Clarke, Patrick Roberts and Dan Neil – who all stayed at the Stadium of Light.

Mowbray said: “The result is important for the team and the spirit.

“It’s been a tough week in the build-up to it in terms of speculation around a lot of our players. In training yesterday, there were rumours about certain clubs looking at certain players and it disrupts young footballers.

“I can see them talking to each other, and yet they showed great professionalism today. We all turned up and did what we hoped we could do.

“I’m happy with the day and happy for the fans. On paper this is a really difficult game. I looked at their squad on the back of the programme and just saw name after name after name of really experienced high quality footballer.”

Sunderland made four deadline-day additions, including the loan signing of Chelsea forward Mason Burstow.

Mowbray said: “We have some extra attacking players now and they might watch that game today thinking how do they get in that team, but that’s OK because competition drives all footballers.”

The former Scotland international is expected to seal the move on Wednesday afternoon, the PA news agency understands.

He will join from Swansea as the Saints move quickly to prepare for life in the Championship.

Martin verbally agreed to take over at St Mary’s over the weekend but the clubs remained in discussions over compensation.

Martin guided Swansea to 10th in the Championship last season despite having a bottom-four budget and the youngest squad in the division.

He has been praised for his style and Southampton will be hoping the 37-year-old can guide them back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

They will finish bottom of the Premier League after a disastrous season which has seen them use three managers.

Nathan Jones replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl in November but lasted just 14 games, winning one, and was sacked in February. Ruben Selles took charge for the final months of the campaign but was unable to keep Saints up.

On Monday, chief executive Martin Semmens stepped down from his role following relegation having been in the post since 2019.

The Saints have also confirmed Selles will leave the end of the season after talks.

A statement read: “Southampton Football Club can confirm that it has held conversations with Men’s First Team Manager, Ruben Selles, and decided that his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season.

“The club wants to place on record its thanks to Ruben for taking on the managerial position at a difficult time for the club and for giving his all as we attempted to stay in the Premier League.

“Ruben will take charge of the team for the final game against Liverpool on Sunday at St Mary’s. We wish him all the best for his future career.”

Winger Fraser produced two fine finishes and set up Sekou Mara as Saints eased to a 19th match unbeaten – one off a club record 20 games without a loss in all competitions.

Che Adams jumped off the bench to slide in a fourth to confirm Southampton’s progress to the fourth round and avoid a copy of last year’s exit to fourth-tier opposition.

Saints grabbed the lead in the sixth minute through Fraser and it felt like Walsall were in for a battering.

Newcastle loanee Fraser’s run off the left flank was spotted by centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis and the former Bournemouth man fired in.

Mara headed a free header over from teenage debutant Jayden Meghoma’s cross before Carlos Alcaraz and Sam Amo-Ameyaw tried their luck from range without accuracy.

The barrage on the Saddlers’ goal continued as French striker Mara blazed over from six yards when presented with an open goal.

But Walsall weathered that storm and found chances of their own.

Tom Knowles out-thought Meghoma before lashing wide and Isaac Hutchinson tested Joe Lumley from the edge of the area, although a pass to Douglas James-Taylor on the overlap might have been a better option.

Will Smallbone should have hit the target when teed up by Fraser while Walsall keeper Jackson Smith recovered just before Mara tapped in after he had parried Alcaraz’s piledriver.

The Saddlers came out for the second half with renewed confidence having kept their Championship promotion rivals to just one and twice caught out the lackadaisical hosts.

Knowles picked up Mason Holgate’s wayward throw-in but he smashed over on the angle before Holgate’s loose pass was nicked by Jack Earing but he curled a one-on-one wide.

They were made to rue those misses when Mara made it 2-0 to calm any fears of last season’s exit to Grimsby.

The France Under-21 international swivelled and found the roof of the net after fine wing play from Fraser in the 58th minute for his fourth goal since arriving at the beginning of last season.

Fraser killed off any chance of an upset in the 68th minute when he brilliantly slotted into the bottom corner after being slid through by Alcaraz.

James-Taylor arrowed a shot towards the bottom corner but Lumley prevented the start of a comeback before Adams made it four.

The striker showed strength after being laid on by Alcaraz before displaying his finishing ability to slot past Smith.

Fraser almost completed a hat-trick in stoppage time but Smith blocked his drilled shot.

The home side looked up against it in the 20th minute when Will Smallbone opened the scoring for the visitors, who are finally clicking into gear under Russell Martin.

But Hull had been the better side until Smallbone scored and deservedly equalised five minutes later through Liam Delap.

However, the full-time result did not properly reflect the game as both sides had countless half-chances in a match which lurched from both penalty areas with almost careless abandon.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior will be frustrated by the result – they have now won just once in seven – as late Southampton pressure allowed Fraser the chance to sweep home with virtually the last kick of the game.

Neither Rosenior nor Martin would have appreciated the open nature to the contest – but it unquestionably made for an entertaining match.

That was evidenced after 11 minutes when former Southampton defender Alfie Jones carelessly gave away possession on the right.

Stuart Armstrong squared to Smallbone, whose speculative hit from distance was deflected and well saved by Ryan Allsop.

Allsop could, however, do nothing about the opening goal three minutes later.

Kyle Walker-Peters too easily won his duel with Jaden Philogene before cutting back to an umarked Smallbone, who guided the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.

But Hull were far from done, most notably on the flanks, and equalised soon afterwards.

Southampton looked well positioned to snuff out the danger, yet an onrushing Scott Twine caught the visitors’ defence flat-footed with a whipped cross from the right.

Philogene’s initial effort deflected kindly to Delap, who powered home from a central area inside the six-yard box.

Saints fans might have expected a response but, if anything, Hull were the superior team before the break.

The hosts also flew out of the traps after the interval, with Philogene and Tyler Morton somehow denied by relentless last-ditch defending during a madcap counter-attack.

Southampton remained firmly in the game, though, and nearly punished Hull’s deep-lying back-four when Stuart Armstrong flashed inches wide of the target from long range.

Adam Armstrong later teed up Carlos Alcaraz, whose instinctive hit required a strong right hand from Allsop.

Delap might also have done better a few minutes later, but the Manchester City loan signing ran out of fuel, and ideas, in a one-on-one situation – albeit from a tricky angle – with Gavin Bazunu.

By contrast to what came before, the final half-hour was played out at a relatively sedate tempo.

Saints, now unbeaten in four, finished the stronger, with the influential Smallbone again thwarted by Allsop late in the piece.

But with the game meandering towards a draw, Fraser – an 84th-minute replacement for Stuart Armstrong – chose an opportune moment to open his account for Southampton.

Flynn Downes did all the hard work with an excellent low cross from the right, but the Newcastle loan signing still had the presence of mind to flight the ball out of Allsop’s reach with a perfect finish.

Winger Edozie poked in a corner before Stuart Armstrong’s third goal of the season, Sekou Mara’s tap-in and Carlos Alcaraz’s finish punished Rovers, who had Callum Brittain sent off after two yellow cards.

Alcaraz also missed a penalty for the hosts but they secured a fifth straight home win for the first time since 2014 and continued their best streak for 39 years.

Southampton boasted 73 per cent of possession in a first half in which Blackburn sat back and tried not to concede. But Saints had little to show for their domination until the 44th-minute goal.

Stuart Armstrong showed nifty footwork before whipping a shot past the post, while Edozie and Will Smallbone caused panic in the box with their quick feet and Sondre Tronstad was forced to head onto the roof of his own goal.

James Bree ran onto a volley, Adam Armstrong charged down goalkeeper Leopold Wahlstedt and Smallbone’s controlled finish from Stuart Armstrong’s cross continued the largely one-way traffic.

The only time that flow changed was in the 24th minute when the visitors won a free-kick on the edge of the Saints box.

Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics smashed through the wall before Brittain followed up – with both kept out by Gavin Bazunu’s strong wrists.

Edozie had returned to the starting XI for the first time since October after scoring against Coventry in the week.

He rewarded Russell Martin, and capped the authoritative first half, by prodding in a Bree corner on the cusp of half-time.

After Wahlstedt had brilliantly denied Stuart Armstrong, Blackburn showed off their attacking pedigree for the first time as Bazunu had to be cute to save from Andrew Moran and Harry Leonard.

But that momentum was squashed in the 55th minute when Brittain needlessly received his second booking for kicking the ball away, having got his first for a shirt pull on Kyle Walker-Peters.

That only made Southampton’s task easier and nine minutes later, Stuart Armstrong stroked in after Flynn Downes had broken through and been chopped down.

Self-preservation was the name of the last half an hour for Rovers but they could not prevent Southampton’s fresh legs.

Alcaraz’s ‘Panenka’ penalty went over the bar, after Hayden Carter had downed Mara, and Wahlstedt stunningly denied Ryan Fraser.

Saints added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time as Mara turned in Fraser’s cross and Alcaraz thumped in a rebound after Smallbone had been thwarted.

Saints went level on points with third-placed Leeds and closed the gap to the runaway top two to 10 points.

The Southampton striker charged down an attempted pass from Craig Cathcart before lobbing Ben Foster to give his side the lead over Watford.

It was officially clocked at 7.69 seconds into the game at Vicarage Road, making it the fastest goal ever scored in a Premier League match.

The previous quickest was scored by Ledley King, who netted for Tottenham after 10 seconds against Bradford City back on December 9, 2000.

But do you know who holds the record for the other top-five leagues in Europe? Well, you do now.

BUNDESLIGA

DATE: 23/08/2014

PLAYER: Karim Bellarabi

GOAL TIME: 9.32 seconds

GAME: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 BAYER LEVERKUSEN

This goal showed the benefit of a bold approach to kick-off. Leverkusen got the game underway and immediately launched an attack, Sebastian Boenisch played it to Bellarabi, he turned into space and slotted the ball past Mitch Langerak.

LALIGA

DATE: 20/01/2008

PLAYER: Joseba Llorente

GOAL TIME: 7.8 seconds

GAME: REAL VALLADOLID  2-1 Espanyol

The art of the surprise attack. Llorente kicked off with Victor and raced upfield, while his team-mate turned back into his own half and then quickly spun to play a long ball over the Espanyol defence. Llorente kept his cool with a lobbed finish.

LIGUE 1

DATE: 15/02/1992

PLAYER: Michel Rio

GOAL TIME: 8 seconds

GAME: CAEN 3-1 Cannes

Rio's record is by far the longest in the top-five European leagues and helped Caen see off Cannes in convincing fashion. Whether he truly meant the inspired first-time finish, volleyed in off the crossbar after a long punt up the pitch, is less clear.

PREMIER LEAGUE

DATE: 23/04/2019

PLAYER: Shane Long

GOAL TIME: 7.69 seconds

GAME: Watford 1-1 SOUTHAMPTON

A start to a match that Cathcart will not want to watch too many times. He dithered on the ball just long enough to see his attempted pass blocked by Long, who held the centre-back at arm's length before clipping a fine finish over Foster. This was, though, the only goal on our list that didn't end up leading to a victory.

SERIE A

DATE: 02/12/2001

PLAYER: Paolo Poggi

GOAL TIME: 8.2 seconds

GAME: Fiorentina 1-3 PIACENZA

A goal born out of some fantastically frantic early pressing, allowing Poggi to race onto a loose ball and slam a powerful finish home from the edge of the Fiorentina box. It was one of only three he scored for Piacenza.

Liverpool came from behind thanks to Mohamed Salah's second-half double to beat Southampton 3-2 on Sunday.

That victory at St Mary's moved the Reds eight points clear of Man City, who were thrashed 4-0 at home by Tottenham on Saturday for a fifth straight defeat in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola's team visit Anfield on December 1, though first the Reds host European champions Madrid in the Champions League.

And Slot cannot wait for Liverpool to go up against two heavyweights.

"It's what you need in a league like this, with so many quality teams. You have to keep winning because if you don’t, the other ones will," the Dutchman told BBC Sport.

"That's what we try to do every game, now it's Real Madrid and next Sunday it's Man City.

"You couldn't wish for more than playing these two games in the upcoming week, at home."

No manager in Premier League history has reached 10 wins in fewer matches from the start of their career in the competition than Slot (12 games, level with Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti).

Liverpool were indebted to Salah, however, with the forward dragging them level and then converting the winner from the penalty spot after Mateus Fernandes had put Southampton into a surprise lead early in the second half, following goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Adam Armstrong before the break.

Salah became the first player to score in five successive Premier League appearances for Liverpool since the Egyptian himself in October 2021 (seven in a row). His second goal was his 100th away from Anfield for Liverpool in all competitions.

"It was very good that Mo scored in that moment," said Slot of Salah's first goal, which came in the 65th minute when he nudged Ryan Gravenberch's pass beyond the stranded Alex McCarthy.

"It was not the best period of the game so he helped us with that and then afterwards we dominated so much, they got tired.

"That is what special players do. They can score goals out of nowhere. It's not completely out of nowhere because the assist of Gravenberch is a great ball as well, but Mo is known for the timing of his runs, he feels the right moment to run behind the last line, and normally you know he’s not offside because he always finds the right moment, and then he scores the goal, which was very helpful for us."

While Slot acknowledged Liverpool were tested by the Premier League's bottom club, he felt his team were always in control.

He added: "It wasn't a surprise for us, we saw how they played against Man City, Arsenal and Newcastle in away games, never mind how they would play in a home game against a top team. But we dominated. Because we went down 2-1, it made it really difficult for us.

"We dominated the whole game, which is not that easy against Southampton because they want possession, they want to dominate the game as well, but they couldn't. Because the scoreline was as it was, it felt like a difficult match, but if you look at the underlying numbers we deserved to win."

Those metrics support Slot's point. Liverpool accumulated 2.9 expected goals from 27 shots, 11 of which were on target, while they also limited Southampton to 37.9% possession.

United emerged from the first international break of 2024-25 14th in the Premier League table following defeats to Brighton and Liverpool, but they got back to winning ways after surviving an early scare on the south coast.

Making his first Premier League start, Tyler Dibling won a penalty for Southampton in the first half, but Andre Onana kept out Cameron Archer's tame kick and the momentum shifted from there.

De Ligt headed in his first United goal just two minutes later, then an excellent Rashford strike, curled into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box, gave them breathing room. 

Garnacho came off the bench to add to Southampton's woes in the second half, with Jack Stephens' wild lunge on the Argentine resulting in him being shown a straight red card with 11 minutes to play.

Garnacho then got himself on the scoresheet six minutes into stoppage time, lashing into the roof of the net after Diogo Dalot found him with a cutback from the byline.

Data Debrief: Rashford back in form

Rashford's dip in form in 2023-24 was a major contributing factor in United finishing a lowly eighth in the Premier League, the forward netting just seven league goals after plundering 17 the previous campaign.

However, he showed supreme confidence for his 41st-minute strike, which gave United a two-goal cushion at a crucial moment.

That effort ended a run of 12 games for United without a goal for Rashford, who had only previously endured two longer droughts for the club – 17-match runs that ended in January 2017 and August 2022.

Three of Rashford's last four Premier League goals have come from outside the penalty area, and since the start of 2022-23, only Eberechi Eze (eight), Phil Foden (seven) and Kevin De Bruyne (six) have scored more such goals in the competition than his five.

Armstrong’s first league strike of the season came in the 85th minute of Saturday's tightly fought contest, while lifting the Saints off the foot of the table.

Aaron Ramsdale had earlier kept the scores level with a fine save from Michael Keane's close-range header, while substitute Beto nodded against the crossbar.

Southampton broke through five minutes from time when substitute Yukinari Sugawara's low centre was superbly swept home by Armstrong.

Everton thought they had an equaliser when Beto raced in behind and finished brilliantly beyond Ramsdale. 

However, a VAR review showed that the Brazilian had strayed offside, and the goal was overturned, to the delight of the home fans, who celebrated a Premier League victory for the first time since March 2023.

Data Debrief: Saints off the mark

Southampton finally have their first victory on the board courtesy of Armstrong's strike which, timed at 84 minutes and 33 seconds, is their latest Premier League winning goal since Charlie Austin struck six seconds later against Arsenal in December 2018.

The Saints also recorded their 14th Premier League win against Everton at home, now their outright most against a single opponent in the competition.

As for the Toffees, their five-game unbeaten league run comes to an end, and they have now lost 11 of their last 15 league games in November.

With both sides winless in their first four games of 2024/25 after winning promotion together from the Championship last term, Saturday's match was played out at a relentless pace from the off.

Teenager Tyler Dibling, one week on from a positive performance against Manchester United, put Southampton ahead early on, taking in Adam Lallana's pass and producing a composed one-on-one finish.

Russell Martin's team were closing in on a huge victory when Morsy struck five minutes into stoppage time, sending a 20-yard volley into the top-left corner via the help of a slight deflection off Jan Bednarek.

The result keeps both teams still waiting on their first wins of the campaign, with Southampton 18th after earning their first point and Ipswich two points better off in 16th.

Data Debrief: Ipswich the long-range maestros

All three of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, with Morsy pouncing on a half-cleared corner at the death to find the top-left corner, with a little help from a deflection.

They are the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from distance, after Aston Villa (1993-94), Arsenal (2002-03), Fulham (2009-10) and Burnley (2016-17).

While the Tractor Boys are still waiting on their first Premier League win since 2002, Southampton remain winless in 18 Premier League matches, since a 1-0 win against Leicester in March 2023.

They went in front early on through Axel Disasi’s header but were quickly pegged back as Joe Aribo fired home an equaliser for the home side.

Chelsea reclaimed the lead through goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke, before Cole Palmer and substitute Jadon Sancho further added to their lead in the second half.

A miserable night for Southampton was made more difficult when Jack Stephens was shown a red card by in the first half following a VAR review after an entanglement with Marc Cucurella.

The emphatic victory sees Chelsea move up to second, seven points behind leaders Liverpool, while Southampton remain at the foot of the table.

In fact, Southampton are only the seventh team to lose as many as 11 of their first 14 Premier League games in a season, along with Sunderland (2005-06), Portsmouth (2009-10), Bolton (2011-12), Aston Villa (2015-16), Sheffield United (2020-21 and 2023-24) and Burnley (2023-24) – all of those teams were relegated.

Data Debrief: Fernandez's helping hand

Enzo Fernandez helped get the ball rolling when he teed up Disasi's opener, and the Argentine now has seven assists in all competitions for Chelsea this season, the most of any Blues player. Indeed, he now has six assists in his last five games.

Chelsea did benefit from some poor defending, though. Southampton have made nine errors leading to opposition goals in the Premier League this season, four more than any other side. In the entirety of last season, the only side who made more errors leading to goals were Brentford, with 10.

The Blues have now scored five or more goals in two away Premier League games this season (6-2 vs Wolves, 5-1 vs Southampton), the first time they have done so twice in a season since 2014-15.

With Newcastle United drawing 3-3 with Liverpool, it opened the door for Enzo Maresca's team to move within seven points of the Reds.

Cameron Archer had opened the scoring for the hosts after just eight minutes before Joe Aribo slotted home the second to double the lead 20 minutes later.

But Facundo Buonanotte got Leicester back into the tie in the 64th minute, bundling home Abdul Fatawu's cutback.

Ten minutes later, Ryan Fraser saw red and conceded a penalty after holding back Jamie Vardy from poking over the line. The striker duly converted from the spot.

Ayew then completed the comeback in the 98th minute, driving a low shot into the bottom corner to seal a second consecutive win for Leicester.

Southampton are bottom of the table after failing to hold onto a point, while the Foxes move up to 13th. 

Data Debrief: Late drama disaster for the hosts

Since they returned to the Premier League in 2012-13 after a seven-season gap, Southampton have dropped 231 points from leading positions in the Premier League, more than any other side in that time.

The side that sit bottom of the table have now gone 21 games without a win in the Premier League (D5 L16), their outright longest winless streak in top-flight history.

Maybe they should have seen the result coming as the hosts found themselves two goals ahead at half-time for the first time in a Premier League game since November 29th 2020, against Manchester United, a game they also lost 3-2.

Two second-half goals from Mohamed Salah turned Sunday's game on its head after Mateus Fernandes had given bottom club Southampton a surprise 2-1 lead.

Dominik Szoboszlai had given Liverpool a 30th-minute lead by curling home via the far post after Flynn Downes' dreadful clearance landed at his feet inside the area.

However, the outstanding Tyler Dibling was felled by Andrew Robertson for a Southampton penalty on the stroke of half-time. Adam Armstrong's spot-kick was repelled by Caoimhin Kelleher, but the striker kept his nerve to tuck home the equaliser.

Armstrong then turned provider when Fernandes swept home Southampton's second in the 56th minute, but their lead would not last.

Salah cushioned a searching Ryan Gravenberch pass beyond a stranded Alex McCarthy for 2-2 in the 65th minute, then saw his inswinging cross handled by Southampton substitute Yukinari Sugawara seven minutes from time.

The Egyptian scored what proved to be the winner from the resulting penalty, and he almost got a hat-trick when he crashed a shot off the base of the post in the 88th minute.

Southampton remain bottom of the table, five points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves. Liverpool, meanwhile, are sitting pretty ahead of next week’s meeting with Manchester City, who were routed 4-0 by Tottenham on Saturday.

Data Debrief: Salah helps Slot into history books

Despite a lacklustre defensive performance, Liverpool earned their 10th victory in 12 Premier League games this season (one draw, one defeat), thanks primarily to Salah's quality in attack.

Salah has become the first Liverpool player to score in five successive Premier League games since the Egyptian himself did so in seven straight matches in October 2021. 

His penalty, meanwhile, was his 100th goal away from Anfield for the Reds across all competitions.

Slot has now joined former Chelsea bosses Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti as the fastest managers to reach 10 Premier League wins upon their arrival in the division.

Martin's team took an early lead through Tyler Dibling after five minutes and held on until the 95th minute, when Ipswich’s Sam Morsy fired home to level the scores.

Southampton had accrued an expected goals (xG) total of 2.49 while fending off the majority of their opponent’s 13 shots, six of which were on target.

However, they were left to reflect on a frustrating result at home to a fellow newly promoted outfit.

"There are so many things to be positive about. It was our best performance, but it wasn't enough to get the win, so I'm allowed to be angry and annoyed," the Southampton boss told Match of the Day.

"We allowed them a header just before the corner where they scored from the second phase. We didn't stick to our principles in the details, and that's about having enough experience to get through, and we didn't do it.

"There was so much good stuff but the overriding feeling is being disappointed. We made a few fundamental errors that we haven't done in training so it has to be down to the anxiety.

"There were so many positives but I'm frustrated and angry because of the lateness of their goal and the feeling that we deserved to win, but that's football and these things happen.”

Martin’s adversary in the dugout, Kieran McKenna, believed Ipswich deserved the point despite conceding several good chances, and they have now accrued the highest expected goals against figure in the Premier League this season (11.49 xGA).

Despite registering 1.68 xG themselves, they became only the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from outside the box.

"It was a fantastic way to finish the game. For the captain to step up and strike it well and for the goal to come in front of the away supporters to get a point is a great thing for the group to go through,” said McKenna.

"I thought we deserved a point. We started much better but were undone with a real piece of quality from Adam Lallana. Against a team away from home, pushing for their first win was not easy, but we kept doing the right things.

"It's a massive thing to go through and builds on what we have done over the last few years. Scoring late goals and never giving up has been a massive part of our success, so for a new group, it's good for them to go through that today.

"We're edging in the right direction, but we have to keep improving. It's about keep developing as a team, keep improving and the points will take care of themselves."

The former Manchester City winger had been an unused substitute in the Saints’ last three outings, but came off the bench to cancel out Haji Wright’s opener.

Russell Martin’s men pushed tirelessly for a winner in the closing stages, but the draw keeps Southampton firmly in the play-off positions – 12 points behind second-placed Ipswich.

The Sky Blues were forced to withstand heavy pressure against the possession-hungry Saints in the first half as Adam Armstrong attempted to add to his 12 Sky Bet Championship goals this season.

The forward scored 20 goals for Coventry on loan from Newcastle in the 2015-16 season and forced home goalkeeper Brad Collins into action after 10 minutes when he cut inside from the right and fired a low effort at goal.

Bobby Thomas came flying out of defence to block Armstrong’s next effort after a smart short corner routine before Ellis Simms hooked off the line.

Ryan Manning almost put Southampton ahead when he met a Kyle Walker-Peters cross midway through the first half.

But Coventry withstood the pressure, seeing just 24 per cent of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, before Jamie Allen fired wide from the edge of the box.

Simms had scored in just one of the 21 appearances for the Sky Blues prior to the Saints’ arrival and Gavin Bazunu stood firm to block the former Everton man’s effort after he was played in by Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

Coventry’s positive end to the half gave Robins’ men confidence after the break and they were inches from going ahead through Callum O’Hare, fresh off his first goals in over 18 months against Birmingham last time out.

Milan van Ewijk created space for himself down the right and pulled back for O’Hare, whose sweetly struck effort crashed off the crossbar and away to safety.

The Sky Blues were ahead just two minutes later when Wright found himself in acres of space inside the box and shifted the ball inside before slotting home his sixth of the season.

The opening goal came following some good work from O’Hare, who held off Manning before calmly slotting in Wright with the Southampton defence all at sea.

Southampton’s search for an equaliser saw Stuart Armstrong force Collins into a low save to his left, whilst Martin introduced Edozie alongside Ryan Fraser from the bench.

Both substitutes were heavily involved in the equaliser just seven minutes later as Fraser’s cross was nodded on by Adam Armstrong to Edozie, who controlled the ball with his chest before finding the far corner.

From then on it was all Southampton as Joe Aribo’s left-footed effort whistled past the upright.

Thomas had his heart in his mouth when he diverted Fraser’s cross agonisingly wide of the post, whilst Adam Armstrong’s first effort was blocked and his well-struck follow-up brushed the top of the crossbar.

Ryan Fraser netted a brace while Joe Aribo, Samuel Edozie and Che Adams also struck to help Saints extend their unbeaten run to 16 matches, their longest stretch without a league defeat since the 1921/22 season.

Southampton, who were watched by owner Dragan Solak ahead of the January transfer window, moved up to third and are only four points adrift of the Championship automatic-promotion places.

It would have been bittersweet for Martin, who managed the Swans in 99 fixtures before switching to Saints last summer.

Swansea had started strongly. Jerry Yates met a Ben Cabango pass from a deep free-kick but fired high and wide on the slide in the second minute.

Then Bashir Humphreys found Jamal Lowe in acres of space at the back post but his attempted side-footed strike ballooned off target.

They were quickly made to pay for their lack of killer instinct as Aribo opened the scoring in the 17th minute, his first goal for 451 days, when he netted against Everton in the Premier League.

Edozie had smartly jinxed his way to the by-line before cutting back to Stuart Armstrong. The midfielder’s shot was blocked but it fell to the Nigeria international who fired in via the post.

Swansea are a rare Championship side Adam Armstrong has failed to score against, and he had two good first-half chances to remedy that.

Firstly, his effort was too tame and central to beat Carl Rushworth after a Kyle Walker-Peters pull back, before properly testing the keeper with a left-footed strike destined for the bottom corner.

Saints consolidated their lead three minutes into the second half but were indebted to a rush of blood from Rushworth to give Edozie a tap-in.

The Brighton loanee swung wildly at Nathan Wood’s back pass, missed and winger Edozie was free to back heel in for goals in back-to-back home matches.

The goal was met with chants of “get out of our club” by Swansea fans as they continued to make their displeasure at their American owners known.

Substitute Fraser made sure of the Saints victory when he curled into the top corner after Adam Armstrong had quickly turned over the ball and played it to the Scot.

Sekou Mara was a toe from sliding in a fourth before Rushworth had to bat away Walker-Peters’ near-post blast.

Fraser crashed into the roof of the net after Mara had played him in and Adams powered in after a Fraser cross to make it four and five – with 310 minutes elapsing since Saints last conceded a goal.

Adams was left out in favour of Adam Armstrong, who gave the visitors the lead, but came on and changed the course of the game with his late strike that silenced the taunting home fans, who took a dislike to his former stint across the city at Sheffield United.

Martin, who was frustrated at Lee Gregory’s second-half equaliser for the Owls, revealed the club turned down a bid for the striker a fortnight ago and praised his attitude in dealing with both that and his omission from the staring line-up at Hillsborough.

“The hardest decision for the team was to decide which one we played, I think we can get both on the pitch as well,” Martin said of Adams and Armstrong.

“They both got a goal and the way Che reacted to not playing was amazing – brilliant energy and so respectful.

“There was a lot of noise around him, we turned down a bid for him a couple of weeks ago and nothing has happened since.

“The way he dealt with that is amazing. He got a nice reception getting off the bus from Sheffield Wednesday fans, so for him to score I am delighted.”

It was a promising start to the campaign for the Saints, back in the second tier for the first time in over a decade following last season’s Premier League relegation, and they posted 991 successful passes as they dominated possession.

There were times when they lacked a cutting edge, but Martin was happy enough at the start.

“They are top professionals and big characters to do what we asked them tonight, under big pressure,” he added.

“First game of the season, Hillsborough, Friday night. I am incredibly grateful for the mentality they showed. There will be loads to improve on from tonight.”

Sheffield Wednesday had a turbulent summer following their League One promotion last term, following Darren Moore’s exit and fan unrest at spiralling ticket prices.

New boss Xisco Munoz had only four weeks to prepare for the season and was still adding players to his squad in the build-up to this game.

“I think the team understand what we want, we were very close,” the Spaniard said.

“The reaction of the players in the second half was good. This is the best performance of the six games we have had.

“It is four weeks together, some players arrived yesterday.

“We need to follow this attitude. We know the opponent we had, they are very dangerous, you close your eyes two times and they hurt you.

“We were very close today. We need to improve.”

Following their return from the international break, the Saints face Everton and Wolves, but start by welcoming Leicester City to St. Mary's this Saturday. 

Having watched his team go toe-to-toe with Arsenal in their last encounter, Martin is targeting the same approach in the upcoming games that he’s labelled “absolutely vital”.

“We’ve had Newcastle away; Manchester United at home, where for half an hour we’ve been outstanding; and here,” Martin said.

“Now we have to transfer that into the games that are going to really define our season, and we have three or four of those coming up in the next block of games that are going to be absolutely vital.

“The league is so tight and is going to be so tight for so long, but today I saw so much in a lot of the guys and the team, the way it felt, to make me feel really excited about what’s to come.”

Leicester, meanwhile, earned their first win since their return to the Premier League with a 1-0 triumph over Bournemouth last time out.

Facundo Buonanotte’s only goal sealed the victory, notching his fourth goal involvement in six Premier League appearances this season – already his joint-most across a single campaign in the competition (also four in 2023-24)

The Foxes also kept a clean sheet at home in the Premier League for the first time since October 2022, though head coach Steve Cooper insisted it was just a small step in the right direction.

“Everybody gave everything in the game,” Cooper said. “They give everything every single day in training. Of course, in the first quarter of games there’s things we could have done better, but some things have really gone against us as well.

“To get that grey cloud away from us of getting that win, we’ve really got to think now about getting some more positive results like this. It’s brilliant and you’ve got to enjoy it, because it’s so hard to win games in the Premier League, but it’s one win.

“From now, there won’t be a day that goes by without me thinking about how we beat Southampton. Obviously, we’ll reflect, but all with the idea of how we can improve to try and go back-to-back when we return after the international break.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Southampton – Cameron Archer

Archer opened his Premier League account in Southampton’s defeat to Arsenal ahead of the international break, and he will be hoping to continue his scoring streak on Saturday.

This will be the 22-year-old’s first senior outing against Leicester, having played two games against them with Aston Villa’s Under-18’s, winning once and losing the other.

Leicester – Jamie Vardy

Vardy has been involved in 12 goals against Southampton in his English league career (eight goals, four assists) – against no side has he had a hand in more.

Six of these eight goals have come at St Mary’s Stadium, including a hat-trick in October 2019, while he has also scored two goals from five shots in the Premier League this term – no player to have had at least five attempts has a better conversion rate than the veteran Foxes striker (40%).

MATCH PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON WIN

While Southampton are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, they are winless in their last 20 Premier League games (D5 L15) – failure to win in this match would set a club record for their outright longest winless run in their top-flight history.

Though the Saints have had the fifth-highest share of possession in the top-flight this season (57.4%), just 3.2% of Southampton’s touches have come in the opposition box, the third-lowest ratio this term.

Martin’s side have also conceded more goals following a high turnover than any other side in the Premier League this season (four).

And having done the double over Leicester in their last Premier League campaign together in 2022-23, Southampton lost both Championship meetings with the Foxes last term by an aggregate score of 9-1.

Leicester are one of just three teams (along with Arsenal and Man City) to have scored in every Premier League game so far this season. The Foxes earned their first win of the campaign last time out, last winning consecutively in the competition in February 2023.

However, they are winless in their last three Premier League away games against Southampton (D2 L1) since a 9-0 win under Brendan Rodgers back in October 2019.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Southampton – 42.2%

Draw – 25.4%

Leicester – 32.5%

Ryan Fraser and David Brooks netted as Russell Martin’s side returned to second, a point ahead of Leeds, in the race for an instant return to the Premier League.

Saints dominated for long spells and Baggies boss Carlos Corberan was sent off early for misconduct having kicked the ball while it was still in play.

The hosts were denied a penalty after Jack Stephens’ handball as defeat halted a buoyant atmosphere at The Hawthorns.

Florida-based Shilen Patel is poised to buy a 87.8 percent stake in Albion’s parent company, West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, with the takeover due to be rubber stamped next week.

It will end the unhappy reign of Guochuan Lai and Patel was in the directors’ box to watch the Baggies, who remain fifth, slip to just a third home league defeat of the season.

Saints lost their club record 25-game unbeaten run with Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Bristol City and came out with a point to prove.

Kyle Walker-Peters whistled over before the visitors were given a further boost after seven minutes when Corberan was dismissed.

The head coach went to stop a Sekou Mara clearance he thought had gone out but, with the ball still in play, referee Sam Allison showed the red card.

By then, Southampton were already in the ascendancy and soon after Alex Palmer smothered Adam Armstrong’s shot after his poor initial clearance allowed the striker a chance.

It only delayed the inevitable, though, as Saints opened the scoring after 14 minutes.

Fraser’s shot deflected wide and from the resulting corner the on-loan Newcastle winger struck. Shea Charles played it short to Stuart Armstrong and his deep cross picked out Fraser, with his fine cushioned volley finding the corner.

It gave Southampton the platform to dominate but they failed to extend their lead in the first half, Adam Armstrong shooting wide, which allowed Albion to regain their composure and threaten before the break.

Concerted pressure ended with John Swift driving wide from 25 yards and Albion were furious in stoppage time when Conor Townsend’s effort struck Stephens’ arm in the box, only for Allison to wave away their protests.

Albion tried to use that sense of injustice in the second half but, while they battled on, they struggled to make a serious impact.

Swift’s free-kick dropped over and it was Southampton who wrapped up the points with 17 minutes left.

Impressive substitute Joe Aribo started a sharp move when he found Stuart Armstrong to pop the ball into Sam Edozie. He slipped in Brooks 10 yards out and the Bournemouth loanee spun away to drill past Palmer.

Gavin Bazunu maintained the two-goal lead when he turned over Okay Yokuslu’s free header as the Baggies looked for an instant reply but there was no way back.