Samuel Edozie scored his first goal since September to extend Southampton’s unbeaten run to 13 games with a 1-1 draw at Coventry.
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.
Cleverley: Watford 'deserved to win' after improved second half
Tom Cleverley believes Watford "deserved the three points" after an improved second-half display saw them beat Oxford United 1-0.
Vakoun Bayo scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute after he turned in the rebound of his own saved shot.
It is the fifth goal he has scored in three games, having also netted four times in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
The hosts registered 12 shots, seven of which were on target, as they upped the pressure after the break. They only had four attempts in the first half, though Ciaron Brown had to clear an in-swinging Watford corner off his own goal line on the stroke of half-time.
The three points lift Watford up to fourth in the Championship table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, and Cleverley was pleased with the marked improvement he saw in the second 45 minutes.
"I thought the second-half performance was really good until the last five minutes really," he told Sky Sports.
"I thought we didn't manage the game as well as we could do and a few refereeing decisions - dubious one that went against us - meant they could get the ball in our box.
"So, it felt a bit hands to the pump at the end, but I thought for the first 35 minutes of the second half, we were absolutely fantastic and were unlucky not to make it two, three.
"Understandably flat performance in the first half, probably from both teams with it being such a demanding week.
"But I thought our second-half performance in the main deserved the three points and our supporters helped us through."
Meanwhile, Oxford remain 16th and have now won just one of their last 10 matches in the Championship.
They failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and are yet to win a game when conceding the opening goal in the league this season, with this the fifth such match they have gone behind.
It was Oxford's sixth defeat of the season and while manager Des Buckingham said there were positives to take, he was left frustrated by their lack of a clinical edge.
"I'm extremely proud but extremely frustrated," he said.
"I'm disappointed we haven't come away with something. I felt we created enough, we just haven't taken them. If we keep playing that way, we will be fine.
"We speak about being a together group. We did well, but Watford took their chance."
Guardiola confident Man City can avoid fourth straight loss
Pep Guardiola is facing the prospect of losing four consecutive matches for the first time in his career but is confident Manchester City do not need extra reassurance.
All three of City's recent losses have come in different competitions, first falling to Tottenham in the EFL Cup round of 16 before following it up with defeats to Bournemouth in the Premier League and Sporting CP in the Champions League.
It is the first time the Citizens have been on such a run since doing so between May and August 2021, while in the same season, it is the first time since April 2018.
In the Premier League, Guardiola's men were on a 32-match unbeaten run before their defeat to Bournemouth, and they have only lost two consecutive top-flight matches three times under the Spaniard before.
The Spaniard has been vocal about his team's recent injury struggles, and will once again be without Jack Grealish, despite his recent England call-up, John Stones and Ruben Dias for the trip to Brighton on Saturday.
Bernardo Silva said the team were in a "dark place" after their game at Sporting on Tuesday, but Guardiola does not believe he needs to provide any extra motivation to help get his players back to winning ways.
"I don't think [the players need extra reassurance]. Of course, we are not used to losing three games in three different competitions, but it is football, and it has happened," Guardiola said.
"We know the reason why we struggle, but we are looking forward to this game and after the international break, and after that a few players will be back and recovered. All the little problems we have with players will be solved. I hope.
"There always is a first time [to lose four straight]. Hopefully, it is not the case.
"Twenty minutes against Fulham we were not good, against Bournemouth we were not good, but the rest of the games we were good. We are good. We will see what happens."
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's record-breaking hat-trick powers Manchester City to 4-0 victory Over Tottenham Hotspur Women
Reggae Girl Khadija "Bunny" Shaw delivered a historic performance on Friday, scoring a hat-trick that led Manchester City Women to a dominant 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur Women in the Barclays Women's Super League (WSL). Shaw's incredible feat helped City extend their lead at the top of the table, reaching 19 points, four clear of Chelsea, who have played two games fewer.
Shaw, who has now scored seven goals in the league this season, wasted no time asserting her dominance, scoring just moments after kick-off. Bursting through on goal, she slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving City an immediate 1-0 lead. In the 15th minute, Shaw struck again, towering over defenders to head home a looping cross from Lauren Hemp. Tottenham’s goalkeeper and fellow Jamaican, Rebecca Spencer, got a hand to it, but Shaw's powerful header proved unstoppable.
City continued to apply pressure, and in the 66th minute, Jill Roord added to the scoreline. After evading a challenge, Hemp found Roord in the box, who shifted the ball onto her left foot and fired it into the roof of the net, making it 3-0. Just a minute later, Shaw completed her hat-trick. Hemp, instrumental throughout, drove down the byline and delivered a precise cross into the box, where Shaw was perfectly positioned to knock it home.
Shaw's hat-trick set new records in the WSL. She became the first player to record three hat-tricks against the same team and broke her teammate Vivianne Miedema’s record with her sixth career hat-trick in the league.
Facing her fellow Reggae Girlz teammates Drew Spence and Rebecca Spencer, Shaw showed why she is one of the most prolific strikers in the league, continuing to propel Manchester City to the top of the WSL standings with her record-breaking performance.
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