Southampton climb out of bottom three after Wolves draw

Red-hot Danny Ings earned battling Southampton a deserved point at Wolves to haul the Saints out of the drop zone.

The striker’s fifth goal in four games saw Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side climb above the Premier League’s bottom three on goal difference with a 1-1 draw.

The point ended a three-match losing streak in the top flight for the Saints, with seven of their eight points this season coming away from home.

Raul Jimenez levelled from the spot but also had two first-half goals disallowed.

Wolves remain 11th after VAR ruled out the second of Jimenez’s efforts.

They also lost Ryan Bennett to injury after just 18 minutes, with Jesus Vallejo replacing him, ahead of Thursday’s Europa League trip to Slovan Bratislava.

Wolves had dominated the early exchanges but the change unsettled them.

It shifted the momentum to the visitors as the Saints pressed their hosts well, with Nathan Redmond a growing threat.

They began to find pockets of space and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg should have done better than balloon over from 16 yards after 27 minutes.

It rattled Wolves but the hosts thought they had broken the deadlock just 90 seconds later.

Jimenez controlled Willy Boly’s deep pass and rounded Angus Gunn to tap in but the flag had already been raised for handball.

The striker was booked after a VAR check and he suffered more replay frustration four minutes before the break.

Neat build-up worked Wolves into the Southampton area and, when Patrick Cutrone’s flick was turned away by Gunn, Jimenez fired in the rebound.

But the hosts’ celebrations were cut short when VAR showed Cutrone was offside.

If Wolves felt a sense of injustice they let it consume them after the re-start and fell behind within eight minutes.

They survived a let-off inside the first 55 seconds when Vallejo’s wretched pass set up Ings, but his shot lacked conviction and was comfortably saved by Rui Patricio.

Yet the former Liverpool striker made no mistake when the hosts gift-wrapped a goal for him.

Vallejo’s poor clearance was helped back towards the area by Hojbjerg only for Conor Coady to completely miss the ball and Ings rolled past Patricio.

Yet Wolves composed themselves and levelled eight minutes later when Jimenez finally won his personal duel with VAR.

Matt Doherty’s slaloming run was ended when Hojbjerg tripped him in the box and Jimenez buried the spot-kick to Gunn’s right.

It should have given Wolves the platform for victory but the hosts never built on the leveller.

James Ward-Prowse came closest to snatching victory but Patricio turned his late free-kick wide.