It wasn't the homecoming that Russell Martin and Southampton would have wanted upon their return to the Premier League, with Nottingham Forest coming away with all three points.
A solitary goal from Morgan Gibbs-White, which came from a sloppy spell of defending from the Saints, gave the visitors a narrow victory at St Mary's, with Nuno Espírito Santo's side unbeaten from their first two.
As for Southampton, they are yet to pick up a point on their return to the top-flight, despite performances being better than many would have expected.
Here are how the Southampton players rated at St Mary's:
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Southampton Player Ratings
Alex McCarthy - 7
After a blunder against Newcastle last weekend, Alex McCarthy had a decent game between the sticks against Nottingham Forest. The goalkeeper made seven saves, a couple of which were important, and had a pass completion rate of 90% - with two of his three misplaced passes being long balls forward to reduce the threat. Despite his good performance, it is likely his last game as number one due to the imminent arrival of Feyenoord's Justin Bijlow.
Jack Stephens - 6
The captain had a solid game at the back, but certainly not one to rave about. Out of the three centre-backs, he was, arguably, the quietest, but still managed to put his body on the line when needed and looked composed on the ball.
Jan Bednarek - 7
Barring his yellow card, the Polish international enjoyed a solid game in the middle of a back three. He only misplaced one of his 114 passes, made four clearances, and forced the central players for Forest out wide.
Harwood-Bellis is another one that didn't put a foot wrong, but he was sacrificed with 15 minutes to go in favour of Mateus Fernandes - a more attacking change. He made a couple of blocks and clearances, but, again, nothing to rave about.
The Japanese international was his usual lively and energetic self, and enjoyed some success down the right during his 72 minutes on the pitch. He was strong in his tackles, got his side out of danger, and produced a couple of wicked crosses, although neither were capitalised on.
Walker-Peters also enjoyed some success down his flank, whilst also being very busy throughout. He also had a shot on goal after a tricky run, one of the only ones for Southampton across the 90 minutes, but it was comfortable for Sels. One negative was that he lost the ball 15 times.
Flynn Downes - 7
Downes did the simple things well. He broke up the play, passed it off, and worked really hard, but he was never able to venture very far forwards. He was also dribbled past three times and lost it 10 - something very uncharacteristic.
Will Smallbone - 6
The midfielder struggled to get into the game as much as Downes, but still had a decent enough match. He lost possession 12 times, didn't win many of his ground duels and all three of his crosses fell to a Forest player, but he worked hard and didn't leave any gaps to be exploited.
Joe Aribo - 6
After, arguably, being Saints' best player last weekend, Aribo struggled to get a hold of the ball in this clash. He had just 40 touches, the least of the midfield three, and lost five of his six ground duels. He also struggled to make an impact going forward.
Ben Brereton Diaz - 6
Although Southampton were decently defensively, neither of the strikers gave them an outlet. Brereton Diaz, like always, worked hard down the left flank and tried to create opportunities, but nothing seemed to fall his way. It is safe to say he had a much quieter afternoon than last weekend.
Adam Armstrong - 5
The lowest rating of the starting XI but, unfortunately, it is hard to score the striker any higher. He really struggled to get into the game, couldn't use his pace to get in behind, and was replaced in the 71st minute for Samuel Edozie - not something Martin would usually do to his top scorer last season.
Substitutes:
Samuel Edozie (71') - 5
Similarly to Armstrong, although having a lot less time, Edozie couldn't really get into the game and didn't do anything of note.
Cameron Archer (72') - 5
Again, Archer never managed to get into the game and touched the ball seven times, However, Martin may switch to a 4-3-3 next week and Archer could be the man to lead the line.
Charlie Taylor (76') - 6
Just for his excellent cross at the end, he is getting a slightly higher score, mainly as it should have led to a goal. Other than that, not a lot to report.
Mateus Fernandes (76') - 6
The new man looked promising and tidy on the ball, he just needed a bit more time to be able to impose himself on the game. Should get a start next week.
Tyler Dibling (84') - 7
He may have only got 10 minutes, but to come on at such a young age and be as brave as he was, Dibling gets a seven. He was positive, direct, and brought a lot of energy to a tiring side - it is no wonder his manager was full of praise for him after the game.
