An absolute De Ligt 😁.
This was a game that was pretty much perfect for United and specifically manager Erik ten Hag. He needed that win more than anyone else.
United came into this one under pressure after a poor start to the season. Southampton was a potential banana skin but luckily, ten Hag came away unscathed.
The game wasn’t a vintage performance even if the score line suggests otherwise.
The home side were much the better of the two for the opening half hour and perhaps should’ve scored even without the penalty.
Yes the Saints had a spot kick thanks to a poor challenge by right-back filling in at left-back Diogo Dalot who was having a very average game to say the least down United’s left.
Thankfully though, that foul ended up being the kickstarter United needed as Andre Onana came up trumps with a MASSIVE save not just in terms of the game but potentially for the season, or at least in this next period.
A pretty poor penalty to be honest but an important and great save nonetheless.
That sparked MUFC as they began to control the game, amp up the anti and create some good chances.
Erik ten Hag’s side got a corner that displayed a new routine from United as they took it short, had an overload on the back post before Matthijs De Ligt headed the ball into the back post to give the Red Devils the lead.
De Ligt needed that goal and overall performance given his mishaps for the Netherlands. He came in for much criticism thanks to those performances in the international break but came up trumps for United not long after that Onana penalty save.
And then 6 minutes later, another player who needed a goal was Marcus Rashford. Man Utd’s number 10 put the ball in the net after another corner from United saw the ball makes its way to the back post. Amad played a simple pass to Rashford who placed it inside of the post to make it 2-0.
The game changed in an instance.
The second half was an experiment in game management from United, something that we don’t often see as the team from Manchester more often than not, are quite chaotic.
The second period was a non-event as ten Hag’s team just went through the motions with the only issues being not finishing the Saints off earlier and some injury worries.
Joshua Zirkzee had perhaps his best performance for the club but when it came to finishing, couldn’t actually put the chance away. That was the only thing missing from his game.
Eventually though, Alejandro Garnacho came on to seal the deal after some good play down the right as Dalot found him for a finish in the top of the net. Garnacho was also involved in the home side getting a player sent off after a slightly nasty looking challenge on the winger. That red card pretty sealed their fate.
Erik ten Hag will be very happy with the win and most of the performance. That opening half hour would’ve been a worry but after that penalty save, his side woke up and played some good football before getting the goals.
He’ll also be happy with the performances of some of his players who were in desperate need of a performance as well as the goals they scored.
The only concern would be more injuries as all of De Ligt, Martinez and Mazraoui were substituted leaving only Dalot as the defender who started the game to finish it. Even Harry Maguire who came on for Martinez looked to be carrying something at the end.
Ratings:
Onana - 7
Mazraoui - 7
De Ligt - 8 MOTM
Martinez - 7
Dalot - 6
Eriksen - 6
Mainoo - 6
Amad - 7
Bruno - 6
Rashford - 7
Zirkzee - 7
Ugarte - 6
Maguire - 6
Garnacho - 7
Casemiro - 6
Evans - 6
Erik ten Hag - 6
Final Thoughts
Weekend not ruined 🙌. I feel like that says it all.
A solid performance by United in the main and one that was desperately needed. Not a vintage display but one that was warranted after such a disaster last time out.
Now it’s about consistency and carrying this momentum on.
Background Image: Marcus Rashford celebrates his goal in the 3-0 win over Southampton | Image credit: Getty Images via Eurosport