To have 23 shots at goal and only win 1-0 tells you something about both victors Nottingham Forest and defeated hosts Southampton.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s breakthrough in the second half saw the visitors finally take advantage of the heavy pressure they had long built at St Mary’s.
Forest were aided in part by Southampton’s insistence on playing it out from the back. Indeed, against a more clinical side the Saints would have suffered a much heavier defeat.
By 16 minutes, Forest should have been ahead. Ola Aina found Chris Wood at the back post only for his header to be caught gratefully by Alex McCarthy.
The hosts enjoyed plenty of possession in the first half but repeated turnovers prevented them from building any momentum.
Nottingham Forest claimed all three points away from home to newly promoted Southampton
Gibbs-White struck when the ball fell kindly to him after his initial header was blocked
The Nottingham Forest captain converted after the visitors had passed up several chances
Meanwhile, the chances continued to come for Forest. Defender Nikola Milenkovic missed the best of the bunch from a yard out but by half-time it was still level.
Southampton manager Russell Martin made a tactical change at the break, pushing Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo higher up. Saints had a better presence when in attack as a result, but it was in defence where the problems lay.
Despite an improved performance, the inevitable finally happened on 70 minutes.
Southampton boss Russell Martin rued his side conceding from a ‘rubbish set-piece’
Southampton improved in the closing stages but start the season with back-to-back defeats
Aribo was dispossessed on the edge of the box by Callum Hudson-Odoi, the forward picking out Gibbs-White, who converted at the second attempt.
‘We conceded from a rubbish set-piece,’ said Martin. ‘We gave them a corner and had a chance to clear it but didn’t.
‘We didn’t play well enough in the first half. I think there was tension in the team out of eagerness to make things happen when we got into the final third but we kept turning it over, which is the worst thing you can do against Forest.’
By the time Southampton began to get the ball up the pitch quicker it was too little, too late, and Forest held on for just a sixth away win since their Premier League return.