Manchester United beat Southampton 3-0 at the St. Mary’s Stadium last Saturday, September 14. The Red Devils earned their second win of the season in their fourth match. The scoreline flattered United somewhat, as Southampton was the dominant team, especially in the first half.
Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford scored for the visitors to guide them to a victory, but the goals only came after Southampton had missed a penalty in the first half.
Manchester United Once Again Dominated in First Half
Southampton kept attacking, especially through the right side via Tyler Dibling, to keep the United defence busy. Diogo Dalot was put to a stiff test by the young Englishman and the Saints often attacked through the inside-right channel.
De Ligt had a good match defensively and did his fair share to contain the Southampton attacks. He was supported ably by Lisandro Martinez, but had it not been for André Onana, the Red Devils might have found themselves behind quite early in the match.
Onana’s biggest contribution in the match came in the 32nd minute, when he saved Cameron Archer’s penalty to keep United on level terms. It did not came as a surprise that it was Dalot, who committed the foul to award the Saints the penalty.
Rashford, quite expectedly, did not fall back often enough to help Dalot in containing the home side’s attacks. United, however, kept looking dangerous through counter-attacks, which is their forte.
Aaron Ramsdale had to come up with a few saves in the Southampton goal to keep the Manchester United forwards at bay. However, he was not able to keep de Ligt’s header off the goal and was somewhat responsible for the second goal, too, as Rashford’s shot did not look lethal enough to be able to extend United’s lead.
Both the goals were scored in the space of a few minutes and disrupted Southampton’s game completely. In the second half, Jack Stephens’ sending-off meant that remainder of the match was a mere formality. Garnacho scored in the dying minutes of the match to ensure United’s win.
However, as easy as the scoreline might have looked for United, the fact remains that Onana’s stopping the penalty paved the way for their win. Southampton comfortably dominated ball-possession prior to United’s first goal and had the penalty been converted, they might have coasted to a victory.
It might prove to be a key moment in Manchester United’s season if Erik ten Hag’s men are able to improve their performance from now on. A defeat against the Saints would have destroyed United’s morale after their 3-0 loss to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago.
United will next play against Crystal Palace in the league before squaring off against FC Twente in the Europa League. They will then take on Tottenham Hotspur on 29 September, which could prove to be another stiff test. A reversal in that match might jeopardize their season again. It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils can put the agony of last season behind them.