Southampton avoid dubious record with City draw, Brentford keep Europe hopes alive

SOUTHAMPTON, England :Southampton gave their long-suffering fans something to cheer about with a surprise 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Saturday that saw the rock bottom team avoid tying Derby County as the worst Premier League side in history.

Pep Guardiola's City remained third in the table on 65 points with two games remaining in their bid for Champions League qualification. Newcastle United and Chelsea, who meet on Sunday, are only two points behind. Nottingham Forest, who also have a game in hand, trail by four.

Brentford's pursuit of a first-ever European qualification gained strength with their 1-0 victory over already-relegated Ipswich Town, while Brighton & Hove Albion claimed a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to keep them within touching distance of playing in Europe next season.

Fulham's hopes of European football next season are fading fast, however, after they slipped to a fourth Premier League defeat in five games with a 3-1 loss to Everton.

Already-relegated Southampton had looked likely to equal Derby County's season-low tally of 11 points in 2007-08, but the draw moved them to 12 as their fans at a sun-drenched St Mary's Stadium sung loudly in celebration.

Manchester City thoroughly dominated with 26 shots to the home side's two, but Southampton defended in numbers, particularly in the dying minutes, to deny them.

Their game plan drew criticism from City's Ruben Diaz.

"It's frustrating to play against a team like them. They don't even try to play, just wasting time the whole game," Diaz told Sky Sports.

"I don't even feel like they want to play the game or win the game. They are just sitting around. We tried every way. We had chances but we didn't score."

Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was proud