Having returned to England from their summer training camps, Southampton continued their pre-season preparation with games against Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao.
Oriol Romeu's header was not enough to earn victory against Espanyol in the first fixture on home soil, as Felipe Caicedo's converted penalty halted Saints' run of four consecutive victories.
Athletic Bilbao were next up to visit St Mary's the following Sunday in the final pre-season fixture, and Shane Long's strike just before half time ensured Saints finished with a win.
Summer signing Nathan Redmond properly announced himself to the St Mary's faithful on the opening day of the season, as he fired in on 58 minutes against Watford to cancel out Étienne Capoue's earlier strike and start the league campaign with a draw.
However, a Zlatan Ibrahimović brace meant that Saints had to leave Old Trafford empty-handed in their next fixture, before a late Jay Rodriguez strike then ensured a 1-1 draw against Sunderland to complete the opening month after Jermain Defoe's penalty had given the Black Cats a second-half lead.
Results:
Wednesday 3rd Espanyol (h) D 1-1
Sunday 7th Athletic Bilbao (h) W 1-0
Saturday 13th Watford (h) D 1-1
Friday 19th Manchester United (a) L 2-0
Saturday 27th Sunderland (h) D 1-1
Share this: