Debutant Nathan Redmond fired a second-half equaliser to claim a 1-1 draw for Southampton after Etienne Capoue gave Watford an early lead.
It ended honours even in the battle between Premier League managerial debutants at St Mary's Stadium as Claude Puel's Southampton battled back to claim a 1-1 draw against 10-man Watford, under the guidance of Walter Mazzarri.
Etienne Capoue drew first blood for the visitors when he made the most of sloppy Southampton defending to finish emphatically in the ninth minute.
Mazzarri employed a 3-5-2 system and used width to attack a shaky home defence in the moments after the opener, with right wing-back Nordin Amrabat to the fore.