Southampton, Wolves draw; Burnley climb out of relegation zone

Southampton settled for a 1-1 away draw against the Wolverhampton Wanderers at the close of Matchday 9 action on Monday, missing out on a chance to move up to third in the Premier League standings, reported EFE-EPA.

The visiting Saints opened the scoring at Molineux Stadium in the 58th minute on a tap-in goal by forward Theo Walcott, but Portuguese midfielder Pedro Neto netted the equalizer in the 75th minute when he pounced on a ball that had ricocheted off the post.

Other than an apparent goal by Mexican forward Raul Jimenez that was annulled for offside, the match rolled to an uneventful finish.

With the draw, fifth-place Southampton (17 points) are currently undefeated over a seven-game stretch in which they have won five and drawn two; the Saints' last defeat was a 5-2 home loss to league-leading Tottenham on Sept. 20.

The Wolves, who had a 9-2 edge in shots on target, also missed a chance to move further up the Premier League table and currently stand in ninth place with 14 points.

The 31-year-old Walcott, who is on loan from fellow Premier League side Everton and returned to Southampton in October, 15 years after starring for that club as a teenager, said afterward that he was pleased with the result.

"Great feeling to get my first goal back in Saints colours. Shame we didn't get all 3 points but it's still a good point away from home," he tweeted.

In one other Monday game in the English league, Burnley climbed out of the relegation zone by winning their first game of the season - a 1-0 home victory over Crystal Palace.

New Zealand forward Chris Wood scored the lone goal of the contest at Turf Moor - his second of the 2020-2021 season - in the eighth minute off a pass from Jay Rodriguez.

Burnley had more chances to score later in the first half, although neither Rodriguez nor Dwight McNeil were clinical enough to capitalize on clear goal-scoring chances.

Crystal Palace also had their own opportunities, with Belgium's Michy Bashuayi and Andros Townsend both missing out on chances to equalize prior to the intermission.

In the second half, the hosts nearly scored on a shot by Johann Berg Gudmundsson that clanked off the crossbar but for the most part were satisfied with protecting their lead.

In the waning moments of the contest, Belgian substitute Christian Benteke had one final chance to draw Palace level but was denied by Burnley net minder Nick Pope.

The Eagles are currently 11th in the standings with 13 points after suffering their fourth defeat of the season.

Burnley are now in 17th place with five points.