Southampton claim precious point to avoid ‘worst team in history’ tag

Pep Guardiola has an extremely fond memory of St Mary’s Stadium. It was here on the final day of the 2017-18 season that he watched Gabriel Jesus score a stoppage-time winner to ensure Manchester City finished as the Premier League champions with a record 100-point haul.

It was a number at the opposite end of the spectrum that provided a prominent subplot this time. Southampton kicked off on 11 points, level with the all-time lowest haul by a team in the competition – that collected with apologies by Derby in 2007-08. Could Southampton, who had suffered so much, get something to lift them clear of the unwanted association?