Watford 0
Southampton 0
by Sanaa Qureshi

ON A muddy Sunday afternoon, Watford and Southampton failed to impress in a lethargic nil-nil draw.

It was a lacklustre affair where both teams looked sluggish in their hunt for a first league win of the season.

Southampton, perhaps showing the effects of mid-week Europa League action, edged it on possession but did not show enough incisiveness in the final third.

In a cagey first half, where neither side were particularly impressive, the talking point was Sadio Mane’s early substitution.

Suffering from a slight concussion, Southampton’s only bright spark was replaced by Shane Long in the 23rd minute.

Etienne Capoue should have put the Hornets ahead in the 65th minute when a corner was flicked on by Troy Deeney but his close-range effort went soaring over the bar.

That was the highlight of a second half, which was arguably as dull as the first. Ronald Koeman will be pleased with a clean sheet after a leaky start to Southampton’s season but it remains to be seen how European action will affect his squad moving forwards.

Watford are proving hard to beat, earning their third draw of the season and continue on in search of their first three points in the Premier League.