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Jermain Defoe scored for the sixth away game in a row for Sunderland

Southampton and Sunderland drew to remain in search of their first Premier League wins of the season.

Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe opened the scoring, smashing in a penalty after being brought down by Jose Fonte.

Home striker Charlie Austin forced Jordan Pickford into a low save, while the Sunderland goalkeeper also kept out Shane Long and Nathan Redmond strikes.

But Pickford was at fault for the equaliser, letting Jay Rodriguez's long-range shot squirm under his body.

Saints sin with speculative strikes

After selling striker Graziano Pelle in the summer, Southampton are without a presence and focal point at the top of the pitch.

Charlie Austin was making his first start of the season but looked off the pace and has netted just once since joining from QPR in the January transfer window.

Southampton striker Austin had just 19 touches in the match, joint-fewest along with Sunderland's Lynden Gooch. None of Austin's touches came inside the opposition penalty area

Although they worked Sunderland stand-in goalkeeper Pickford on a number of occasion, the efforts were mostly from outside the area.

Two draws and a defeat is the return for new boss Claude Puel in his opening three league games, and although the Frenchman's side had 63% possession, they were struggled to carve open a sturdy Sunderland defence.

However, a late speculative strike did come off for the Saints through substitute Rodriguez, who netted his first goal since March 2014, after an effort which evaded the grasp of England Under-21 international Pickford.

Sunderland's solid centre pairing

This is what you get with young keepers - Moyes

Back-to-back defeats in their opening two games meant Sunderland boss David Moyes was already under pressure, especially after "realistic" comments about the club facing another relegation battle this season.

Defoe's opener 10 minutes from time looked to be the match-winner, but the visitors conceded five minutes later following an individual error.

Up until that point, they had looked solid in defence with the newly formed central defensive partnership of Papy Djilobodji and the returning Lamine Kone, who has been linked with a move to Everton.

The duo combined well as Senegal's Djilobodji made 11 clearances, more than any other player on the pitch, while Ivorian Kone helped out by gaining possession seven times.

If the pair can build on this impressive showing and team-mates can cut out their errors, the North East side may well look up the table rather than down it.

Man of the match - Papy Djilobodji - Sunderland

Question marks were raised when David Moyes spent £8m on a player who played just once for Chelsea after signing for £4m last summer, but more performances like this could see that fee become a bargain

What they said:

Puel expects new Saints arrivals

Southampton boss Claude Puel: "It is disappointing this afternoon. It was important for my players to show good character and spirit to find the equaliser. It is a better result for us just before the international break."

Sunderland boss David Moyes: "Jordan Pickford played really well today and made some good saves. This is what you get with young goalkeepers. There are times they will make mistakes and you have to put up with it. If a defender or midfielder make mistakes, it is not highlighted, but for a goalkeeper it is."

What's next?

Southampton face a trip to Arsenal on Saturday, 10 September (kick-off 15:00 BST), while Sunderland host Everton on Monday, 12 September (20:00 BST).

The stats you need to know:

Jermain Defoe has scored 10 goals in his last 10 appearances away from home in the Premier League

Sunderland have now failed to win a game in their opening three matches of a Premier League season in each of the last six campaigns

The Black Cats have won just one of their 20 Premier League matches in the month of August since 2010-11 (Won one, drawn 10, lost nine)

David Moyes's side have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last eight league matches against Southampton, conceding 16 goals