What turned out to be a memorable night wasn't always so as in typical United fashion, they did give us a scare.
Luckily, that nightmare didn't last all game and the last 10 minutes gave us the result we all wanted and took away sheer embarrassment.
Amorim would've learned A LOT from his players in that one.
Most of it not good 👎.
1. Too slow
An issue that has been apparent for a long time is that our side are too lackluster.
There was no tempo from the start which is what usually sets the tone of a game and it was actually Southampton who began the match much the better of the sides.
They set the tone for this game as the Saints were all over us almost all game and if not for Onana for the first hour and Amad in the last 10 minutes, we comfortably and deservedly lose that game.
The tempo from the start is so important especially when playing at home and it being the first home game of the year too, against a crap side and after two brilliant performances. To not be able to get ourselves up for all those things is unacceptable.
We also just needed to win because before this match we slipped into 15th! That is reason enough to give your best every game.
On top of that flat tempo, we don't move the ball quick enough, players take too many touches and ultimately, kill the move.
United would sometimes find themselves in good situations where they could punish Southampton but as they slowed things down and played it safe, the chance was gone which was frustrating because we know when teams get back into shape, we struggle to break them down, yet we saw this all game.
Another problem is that we hold onto it for too long. We don't play the one time pass and on the one occasion where we did, Eriksen managed to find Amad to give us the 2-1 lead.
This type of quick play is absent from our game and it really kills us.
2. Old habits
What we saw at Liverpool and Arsenal was not only a fight that was missing from our game but also a team that kept it simple. There was no forcing of the issue and we didn't look frustrated.
However, those aspects disappeared last night.
Not only were we slow, we were also very careless in possession often giving it away soon after retrieving it; we looked for passes where there were none; and more than anything, we saw the return of the long shot.
Sir Alex Ferguson said that in tight games, the players shouldn't panic and shouldn't try shooting from outside the box and look for the spectacular.
Bruno, Amad, Zirkzee all tried to do this to no avail and where we developed some patience in our play to rotate the ball and make sure we retain possession in the previous two games, United appeared a lot more anxious and nervy to try and get back in the game resulting in all of these silly plays.
If we just kept it simple and moved the ball quicker, I believe there would've been no reason to see these long shots and impatience.
That footballing IQ is just so low.
3. Zirkzee should've started
I was surprised that Amorim didn't pick him in the XI. After his last two fantastic cameos and the high of scoring the winning penalty in the shootout at Arsenal as well as Hojlund not performing, I thought that this would be the ideal game to bring the Dutchman in.
I think Amorim may have regretted his decision to not start him as well looking at how the game went.
Hojlund had one of his worst performances this season (which is saying a lot because he has not been great for most of it) as the Dane had issues holding the ball up, in his anticipation, link up play and if you add the lack of chances created for the striker, it dmade it a night to forget.
The only good thing he did during the 90 minutes was a great run down the left wing before he played a cutback to Garnacho who should've scored. Hojlund showing how it's done down the wing. We need to be creating opportunities like that for him.
Other than that, he will want to move on from this game pretty quickly.
Amorim made the early change of Hojlund off for Zirkzee and the 23-year-old made quite the difference.
Despite not being a traditional striker, Josh displayed that strength and willingness to get on the end of things that which Hojlund didn't.
He held the ball up much better which allowed the rest of the team to move up the pitch and give us an opportunity going forward. Zirkzee won some headers which Hojlund struggled to do and that technical ability the Dutchman possesses always give him the edge over his Danish counterpart in that area.
The influence of the former Bologna player in attack was also clear to see as he kept the ball a lot better and was more in tune with his teammates.
All of the talk will be about Amad but Zirkzee did make a big difference in our overall play.
He has to start on Sunday.
4. Amad
This isn't about his quality. This isn't just about his goals and their importance.
It is something that I spoke about earlier this season and how Amad is an example for us all.
His perseverance and never say die attitude is what got him that hat-trick and won us the game.
The forward was among those players having a shocker of a performance but what we saw in the last 10 minutes was a player who just didn't give up. He kept going and that is why he got those three important goals.
And with that final goal, it just encapsulated what Amad has been all about specifically once Erik ten Hag was sacked. The Dutchman for whatever reason decided it was a good idea to not pick the lad in what turned out to be his final season as manager.
Putting pressure on the defender and causing him to take a heavy touch is exactly the kind of spirit we need. While the game was almost up and we had the 2-1 lead, Amad didn't stop and that hunger is what led to the defender making that error and the United forward completing his hat-trick, which was the first for a player since Cristiano Ronaldo in 21/22. It is also the third quickest in PL history after Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
This type of endeavor from Amad was something we've seen on many occasions this season already. PAOK, Spurs, Everton and the derby were all examples of where he put pressure on his opponent before winning the ball back and either scoring or setting up a goal.
Not all our players do this and it's plain to see that it is an aspect of our game that should the rest of the squad have it, we will be in a much better position.
We need more Amads.
5. No 'problem' players
That team selected from the start by Amorim was one that I think many were happy with. I certainly was.
It was seen to be not only good enough to beat Southampton but one that featured a lot of players that haven't necessarily been an issue over the years as well as those who could be part of our future.
This was the lineup:
Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Martinez ; Amad, Mainoo, Ugarte, Mazraoui ; Bruno, Garnacho; Hojlund
It's not a question of quality because we know at the moment, there is still a lot of improving to be done but it was one more of a team that we could build around in the future.
Onana is still new (although somewhat devisive however, his saves shouldn't go unnoticed); Yoro is one of the best up and coming young centre-backs in football and is only 19; De Ligt, Mazraoui and Ugarte are all new, at a good age and are three of our best players this season; Martinez is always a fan favorite and just 26 besides; and then there are the youngsters like Amad, Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund who are pretty much what United is all about.
Other than Bruno, we cannot really complain about that team. The likes of Casemiro, Rashford, Antony and players who may not have been good enough in the past such as Wan-Bissaka and McTominay weren't part of this XI. These are players I believe that we could point out as not good enough, have the wrong attitude or are too old.
That was not the case with last night's side so the fact that we still happened to play like we did in the past with those 'problem' players is something for us to worry about.
This was a good and likeable team but displayed the issues of the past.
That is a bit concerning.
Background Image: Amad scores a hat-trick in Man Utd's 3-1 win over Southampton | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)