Match Report: Southampton 0-3 Manchester United

Manchester United appeared cool, calm, and collected as they secured a comfortable 3-0 away win over the recently promoted Southampton.

Coming off a second straight defeat before the international break, Man United were in desperate need of three points in order to restore confidence in their supporters, particularly given the mounting frustration being directed at manager Erik ten Hag.

It was the newly promoted team that appeared more likely to score early on, with Tyler Tibling weaving past Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez to take a shot that hurtled toward the far post. It was only a full-stretch save from Andre Onana that kept the game goalless.

15 minutes in, United finally got their first goalscoring opportunity when Bruno Fernandes threaded a through ball to Amad Diallo in the box. Amad laid the ball off to Christian Eriksen, who found Joshua Zirkzee in the centre. While Zirkzee did well to spring forward and connect with the ball, his shot was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.

Soon after, United won a corner kick, with Noussair Mazraoui taking a superb volley outside the box that forced another save from the Southampton keeper.

In the 21st minute, Southampton were back on the front foot, with Kyle Walker-Peters sending a threatening cross into the box that Onana coolly caught.

Soon after, it was Tibling who was tormenting the United defence yet again, dribbling past Dalot and leaving Martinez rooted to the spot as he drilled in a cross. Fortunately, an alert Matthijs de Ligt managed to get a foot in to clear the ball out of danger.

After being brought down, Kobbie Mainoo was booked after he handled the ball. He’ll need to be vigilant going forward in order to avoid a sending-off.

In the 27th minute, United almost conceded from a corner when an unmarked Lesley Ugochukwu headed his attempt over the crossbar. United’s backline will need to show more vigilance in order to maintain a clean sheet.

On the half-hour mark, Dalot took out both of Dibling’s feet within the box, handing Southampton a penalty. Cameron Archer squared up to the spot, however Onana made a phenomenal dive to the bottom right corner to save Archer’s shot. While the ball rebounded back to Archer, his header was comfortably saved by United’s shot-stopper.

Moments later, a galvanised United surged up the field, with Zirkzee taking an opportunistic long-range effort that the keeper tipped out for a corner.

Then, the magic happened. Eriksen played a short corner to Fernandes, whose cross found the head of Matthijs de Ligt, who put United into the lead against the run of play.

With five minutes to go in the first half, Rashford was on the counter-attack, taking a shot that Ramsdale parried out for a corner.

Eriksen then drilled in a cross that was just slightly too deep for the United players in the box to connect with. Amad collected the ball near the edge of the box, laying it off to Rashford who shifted it to his right foot and swung in a curling effort that beat the keeper and doubled United’s lead. It was a spectacular effort from Rashford that will hopefully mark a turnaround for the player following a prolonged period of poor form.

Moments later, United came close to scoring a third, when De Ligt’s shot was blocked from close range.

It was a decent turnaround from United following an opening half-hour when the home side were dominating proceedings. Ten Hag’s team will need to remain focused, however, if they are to retain their leader in the second half.

As United came back out for the second half, they appeared to be the more driven team, surging up the field on the counter-attack only for Zirkzee’s effort to drift wide.

Rashford booted a close-range effort over the top moments after, while Zirkzee laid off the ball to Mazraoui in the attack that followed, only for his blocked shot to be scooped up by Ramsdale. United looked a lot more confident during the opening minutes of the second half than they did for the majority of the first 45 minutes.

Eriksen was shown a yellow card in the 57th minute for holding onto the jersey of Mateus Fernandes. By this stage, United fans were surely wondering when new signing Manuel Ugarte would be brought on for his debut.

On the hour mark, Rashford unleashed a blistering shot from distance that Ramsdale tipped over the crossbar for a corner. Clearly, Rashford has grown in confidence since his goal.

With 22 minutes left, Fernandes was booked by the ref for crossing the ball after it went out of play. While the United captain protested the decision, the referee showed no interest in reversing his decision. He appears to have taken an unusually strict stance against United, with three players receiving soft bookings.

In the 72nd minute, the moment United fans had been waiting for arrived. Debutant Manuel Ugarte came on for a visibly jaded Eriksen, while Alejandro Garnacho and Harry Maguire replaced Rashford and Mazraoui respectively.

Moments after coming on, Maguire continued playing after a Southampton player collapsed. Another peculiar yellow card from the ref.

After physical discomfort, Martinez came off for Jonny Evans. United will no doubt be concerned about an injury relapse for their star centre-back.

With 12 minutes left on the clock, Southampton’s Jack Stephens was shown a red card for producing a wreckless, studs-up challenge on Garnacho, sending the Argentine crashing to the ground. It’s been an incredibly strict refereeing display this afternoon.

Four minutes from time, goalscorer De Ligt made way for Casemiro, who had a point to prove after his chaotic performance against Liverpool before the international break.

Six minutes of added time were announced, giving United ample time to find a third goal to bury the hosts. Zirkzee received the ball in the centre of the box, slotting the ball to the right only for a defender to get a leg in and block the shot after the keeper dived the wrong way.

On the stroke of the final whistle, Dalot picked out Garnacho in the centre, whose thunderous snapshot found the top right corner of the net. The final whistle blew seconds later, marking a significant improvement from United’s previous two showings. Hopefully, United can take the momentum forward when they face Barnsley in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford, Zirkzee, Eriksen, Amad, Dalot, Mainoo
Subs: Garnacho, Ugarte, Mazraoui, Evans, Casemiro

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