Jamie Jackson was at Old Trafford, and his verdict has landed. Off you click! Thanks one and all for reading this MBM.
... and now BT have a word with Ralf Rangnick. “Unfortunately, again, it is very similar to the last couple of games. A very good first half hour, we did all the things we intended to do with the counter attacks and deep runs, it’s the way we created and prepared a great goal. But we stopped doing that, and in the second half we lost a bit of shape. We struggled to defend them in transition. We had enough chances in the last 20 minutes to score again, the expected-goal ratio was clearly in our favour, but in the end we didn’t get the result we wanted to. On the one hand, we have to respect that Southampton played well, they are not easy to play against. But we lost composure, and took the wrong decisions, sometimes under pressure, sometimes not. This is where we have to get better. We told them to be aggressive and stay compact, not give them any space, this is exactly what we told them, but it is a different thing to play like that on the pitch. We are all disappointed but we must look forward to Brighton.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl speaks to BT. “We had one day less to recover, we had heavy legs. It took a little bit to get into our rhythm, but we started playing football in the second half. They had a better first half, we had a better second half, so the draw, we take it. There were chances on both sides, but when we started playing football we dominated the game and it was good to watch. We definitely had chances to win. It is a fantastic time in this moment, we are good to watch, it’s the way we want to go.”
Man-of-the-match Che Adams talks to BT. “We’ve had a great week this week, and it just keeps building and building. Everyone’s delighted with a big performance. Personally it’s nice to be amongst the goals, but more importantly it’s the points on the board, and we’ve done that with a huge display today. Everyone knows we’re a pressing team, that’s what we do well, and when we press teams, not many teams can handle it. When everyone’s at it, like they were today, we can beat anyone. It was a big performance today against a great team.”
That’s another two points dropped by Manchester United in their chase for a top-four finish. A point isn’t enough to bust them into the top four, and they’re also now under serious pressure from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, both looming large in the rear-view mirror with games in hand. Saints meanwhile consolidate their position in the top ten, where they’ll stay for 24 hours at the very least.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 24 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 23 | 41 | 51 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | West Ham | 24 | 11 | 40 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 24 | 6 | 40 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 22 | 9 | 39 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 1 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 22 | 2 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Southampton | 24 | -7 | 29 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 22 | -4 | 27 |
| 12 | Leicester | 21 | -5 | 26 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 23 | -3 | 25 |
| 14 | Brentford | 24 | -14 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds | 22 | -16 | 23 |
| 16 | Everton | 21 | -13 | 19 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich | 23 | -32 | 17 |
| 19 | Watford | 22 | -18 | 15 |
| 20 | Burnley | 20 | -11 | 14 |
FULL TIME: Manchester United 1-1 Southampton
Both teams could have won it, but this seems about right on balance. Once again, United fail to convert a half-time lead into a win. A smattering of boos as the whistle goes.
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90 min +5: Nothing comes of the throw. Varane then launches a Hail Mary which is shepherded out of play by Stephens for a goal kick.
90 min +4: United are pressing hard here. They win a throw deep in Saints territory on the left flank. Before it can be taken, Diallo comes on for Romeu, and on BT Sport, Martin Keown names Che Adams as man of the match.
90 min +3: Maguire nearly scored from the last free kick coming in from the left, and he nearly scores from this one. He heads down marvellously, towards the bottom right. Forster scoops it out at the very last with the tips of his fingers! Then those fingers are brushed by the boot of Fernandes, as the keeper takes an age to claim the loose ball. Fernandes was within his rights to go for that, but Forster holds on.
90 min +2: Adams hangs out a leg to stop Lingard down the left. A free kick in a very dangerous position, and a chance to load the box. Fernandes to take.
90 min +1: Broja dribbles into the United box from the left. Again he hesitates when you’d expect a shot. United swarm and eventually clear.
90 min: Lingard is booked for impatiently clattering Adams from behind. There will be five extra minutes. Plenty of time for drama!
89 min: Saints want a penalty, because Maguire clanked straight into Broja, knocking him over like a skittle, and then accidentally stood on his leg for good measure. They’re not getting one, though.
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88 min: A long rake down the Saints left. Maguire should clear, but is brushed aside with absurd ease by Broja, who breaks into the box. Broja hesitates when you’d expect him to shoot, allowing Maguire to get back and barge the player over, then shepherd the ball out for a goal kick.
87 min: United found a late winner here against West Ham three weeks ago. Can they dig themselves out of another hole?
85 min: Pogba and Livramento come together out on the Saints right. The United man clips his opponent. There’s nothing much in it, but such is his reaction to the award of a foul - he shoves Stephens - that he goes into the book. Some ranting and raving, also involving Fernandes, ensues, but the referee’s not for budging. Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
83 min: Fernandes attempts to chip into the Saints box, but his pass is blocked. Saints counter at speed though Armstrong, who slips Walker-Peters into the box down the right. Walker-Peters has options in the middle, but goes for goal himself, and his shot is charged down.
82 min: The Old Trafford faithful chant “Attack! Attack! Attack!” and so Rangnick responds by replacing the quiet Rashford with Lingard.
80 min: Fernandes wedges a lovely ball down the right for Rashford, who strides into the box and sends a harmless bobble across the face of goal. United asking a few questions again, after that period of Saints supremacy.
78 min: ... United intercept and counter. Sancho rakes a glorious ball wide right for Dalot, who steams towards the Saints box. But the Saints defence once again holds firm. Dalot tries to dink Elanga clear into the box with a pass down the channel, but a combination of Foster and Stephens shuts the door.
77 min: Walker-Peters chases a long pass down the right. Shaw gets there first, but only sends a nervy backpass wide of the United box. De Gea does very well to stop the ball going out for a corner. Throw deep in United territory, from which ...
75 min: McTominay won’t get the chance to further test the referee’s patience. He’s replaced by Elanga, as United go for the winner that would boost their top-four hopes.
74 min: Both teams appear to be in the mood to search for a winner. Hold on to those titfers, folks.
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72 min: Fernandes swings the free kick into the mixer. Saints bravely hold their line on the edge of the box. Ronaldo is clear and heads home from close range, but the flag correctly goes up for offside. United have had two goals disallowed now, though to be fair, both were blatantly off.
71 min: Elyounoussi hangs out a leg to bring down Pogba out on the United right. It’s his last act of the afternoon: before the free kick is taken, he’s replaced by Livramento.
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69 min: Broja strides down the middle. He’s got Adams free to his left, but opts to shoot himself. Blocked. Saints are getting wasteful now.
68 min: McTominay comes crashing into the back of Broja. It’s just a free kick, but he’s already been booked, and may need to rein it in a bit, if he’s not to test the referee’s patience.
67 min: Elyounoussi bombs down the inside-right channel and slips Broja into the United box. Broja draws De Gea but gets his dink over the keeper all wrong. The ball squirts straight left instead of going forward, and United can hack clear. Saints have had their chances. They’re opening United up easily.
65 min: Saints paint some pretty triangles, Romeu, Adams and Broja combining from left to right. Romeu suddenly sprays a pass to Armstrong, in acres to the right of the D. Armstrong carelessly sends a hot-blooded effort miles over the bar, giving De Gea nothing to do when a goal looked more likely than not. Armstrong has snatched at a couple of very decent opportunities now.
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63 min: Adams scampers into a bit of space down the left, then flicks a ball along the channel for Broja. Maguire, the subject of no little ire after his display at Turf Moor, shows admirable strength against the troublesome Broja to hold the striker off and clear.
61 min: Much better from United: Dalot has a whack from a tight angle on the right. Forster blocks out for a corner. From the set piece, the ball’s looped long for Pogba, who tries to Mark Hughes a bicycle kick into the net from six yards. He doesn’t connect properly and it’s a goal kick.
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60 min: A long rake down the left finds Ronaldo free on the edge of the box. Ronaldo pelts straight at Forster, who parries. Better from United.
58 min: Ward-Prowse and Fernandes tussle in anticipation of a throw coming their way. They wrestle awhile, then the red mist descends on Fernandes, who throws a vicious right hander! Fortunately for everyone involved, he misses his target completely, connecting only with thin air. The referee comes across to tell everyone to simmer down.
57 min: Walker-Peters concedes a slightly unfortunate free kick out on the United left, the ball hitting his arm as it drops over his shoulder, the player looking the other way. The free kick is sent into the mixer, and from the middle of a hectic clump of people, Maguire prods goalwards, six yards out. The shot’s straight at Forster, who hacks off his line and away!
55 min: Nothing comes from the corner, but at the moment Saints are brimful with confidence. Old Trafford has fallen quiet as a result, with the exception of the away support, who are giving it plenty.
54 min: Broja barrels down the middle and sends a powerful riser towards the top right. De Gea does extremely well to tip around for a corner. Shaw meanwhile is fortunate to escape a booking for a desperate shirt tug earlier in the move.
52 min: Walker-Peters romps at pace down the inside-right channel. He’s got options on both sides. He opts for Armstrong, in a central position to his left. Armstrong takes a first-time swipe, and drags harmlessly wide right. Had he taken a second to think - and he had time - he would surely have slipped Adams completely clear down the inside left. United get away with one; they were caught very short at the back there.
51 min: Fernandes finds a little space down the right, reaching the byline and wedging into the middle. There’s nobody there, though, and Stephens can clear.
50 min: Ronaldo threatens to break into space down the right but the new boy Stephens slides in to whip the ball off his toe. Forster completes the tidying-up job.
49 min: United really need a response here, because this game-of-two-halves thing is becoming a habit. On the balance of play, though, it’s no more than Saints deserve.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Southampton (Adams 48)
This is a wonderful goal. The move starts with Foster, who passes out to Perraud on the left. The ball’s shuttled up the flank to Elyounoussi, who slides Adams clear with a sliderule pass down the channel. Adams enters the box, opens his body, and sidefoots powerfully across De Gea, off the base of the right-hand post, and in!
Updated
47 min: McTominay’s blind backpass nearly lets in Adams, but De Gea has spotted the danger, and races out of his box to bash clear in plenty of time.
United get the ball rolling again. Saints have made what appears to be an enforced change, replacing Bednarek with Stephens at the back.
Half-time entertainment. A big derby coming up in the WSL. Suzanne Wrack sets the scene.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 1-0 Southampton
Ronaldo is found in acres down the left by Shaw’s raking pass. He’s miles offside, but the flag stays down. Ronaldo rolls across for Pogba, who slams home. Then the flag goes up. Just the one for United at half time, then. Can they keep this up for two halves this time, something they couldn’t do against Middlesbrough or Burnley? Saints may have other plans.
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45 min: There will be two added minutes. Shame there won’t be 22. This has been a highly entertaining half of football, both teams contributing to the fun.
44 min: BREAKING NEWS. It’s raining heavily in Manchester.
43 min: Perraud, dancing into the United box from the left, does his best to replicate the famous Ricky Villa dribble from the 1981 FA Cup final replay. He beats a couple of men with a dropped shoulder here, a shake of the hips there, but his attempt to sweep into the bottom right is easily snaffled by De Gea.
42 min: United go up the other end, Ronaldo probing down the inside right, Rashford having a look down the opposite channel. Neither can quite fashion the space for a strike on goal.
41 min: United fail to deal with Perraud’s long throw from the left. Pogba’s weak header drops to Armstrong, not particularly invitingly. Armstrong twists in mid air and improvises a volley, the ball slightly behind him. He sends a clever effort towards the top right from 12 yards, but can’t get enough purchase on it, and it’s a fancy-looking but fairly easy claim for De Gea.
Updated
39 min: The corner’s worked back to Romeu, who drags a tame long-distance drive harmlessly wide left.
38 min: Armstrong pings a pass through United’s press for Elyounoussi, who whips an instant ball down the right for Broja. The young on-loan Chelsea striker wins a corner.
37 min: Walker-Peters curls in low and hard from the right. Broja doesn’t attack the ball, six yards out, perhaps aware he was a yard offside. Old Trafford draws its collective breath.
36 min: Saints have worked their way back into the match after a shaky period following the goal. They’re currently winning most of the 50-50s in the middle of the park.
34 min: Armstrong and Romeu combine cutely down the inside-right channel. A one-two opens up a shooting opportunity for Armstrong, who fizzes a low drive wide right. Not miles away, but De Gea had it well covered had it been on target.
33 min: Elyounoussi limps to the sideline, then comes back on. Good news for Saints, as the Norway winger is on form at the minute.
32 min: Elyounoussi is still down, shaking his head. Maguire meanwhile isn’t happy with the booking, though he doesn’t have much of a case, and the referee tells him as much.
31 min: McTominay fouls Elyounoussi twice in the space of 60 seconds or so. The second is a saucy stamp on the Saints man’s heel, and the United midfielder goes into the book.
29 min: After a fairly even start, the goal has firmly tipped the balance in United’s favour. Southampton aren’t offering so much in attack now.
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27 min: Perraud bowls Pogba to the floor and it’s a free kick out on the right. Fernandes wedges it down the channel, looking for Pogba. He nearly finds him clear, too, but the ball just evades the World Cup winner and sails through to Forster.
25 min: They also like a comeback, though. Tottenham Hotspur can testify. Walker-Peters has a look down the right, but his cross is hoicked clear by Maguire.
23 min: That was a rapier thrust of a counter. A classic old-school United goal. It’s only a wonder they took so long. Saints are very open at the back.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Southampton (Sancho 21)
Sancho scores his first Premier League goal at Old Trafford! Fernandes strokes a long pass down the right to release Rashford into acres. Saints are woefully open. Rashford could have a go himself, but rolls across to tee up Sancho instead. Sancho beats the sliding Walker-Peters and slots into the bottom left!
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20 min: Adams and Elyounoussi take turns to probe down the left. Saints are getting some joy down this flank, perhaps a result of Dalot’s desire to attack.
18 min: Dalot glides in from the right and looks to release a couple of red shirts with a sliderule pass. It’s blocked by Romeu on the edge of the Southampton box. This match is very easy on the eye.
16 min: Rashford comes sliding in hysterically on Perraud, a pointless 101 mph leg-clearing tackle, and it’s a no-brainer of a booking. Lucky he kept his studs from view, or that would have been serious bother.
15 min: Elyounouissi and Armstrong attempt to pull off a cute combination from the corner, but mess it up. United go up the other end, and had Pogba’s cross from the right been more accurate, Ronaldo would have been found free in the middle, six yards out. Goal kick, though.
14 min: Elyounoussi, happy to roam, pops up on the right wing and wins the first corner of the afternoon.
12 min: Dalot rakes a long pass down the right, looking for Fernandes. For a second, it looks as though Bruno will trap and round the out-rushing Foster on the outside, but he can’t control. Goal kick. This game finished 9-0 last season. It could feasibly end 9-9 this time, the way these two teams are carrying on.
11 min: Incidentally, there was a warm embrace before kick-off between Rangnick and Hasenhuttl, the pair having worked together at RB Leipzig. Hasenhuttl for Old Trafford next season? Ralf’s got to pick someone.
9 min: This match is gloriously absurd. Elyounoussi crosses from the left. Walker-Peters hooks back across goal from the right. Adams slips, and instead of heading home from six yards, knocks the ball the wrong way with his shoulder. Armstrong’s drive is blocked, and United counter at warp speed, Sancho skittering down the left and having a dig that’s cleared. The aforementioned game in the multiverse is now 3-3 after nine minutes.
7 min: Sancho burns down the left and slips Ronaldo clear down the channel. Ronaldo rounds Forster on the left and looks to roll into the empty net ... only to be denied by the covering Perraud, who stops and clears. This is great fun! In a parallel universe, it’s 2-2 already.
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6 min: Adams has a dig from the best part of 30 yards. It betrays his confidence but achieves little else.
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5 min: It’s an open start all right, with Sancho working his way down the left and looking for Fernandes with a pass down the channel. Romeu gets a toe in to divert back to Forster.
4 min: Rashford swings one in from the right. Ronaldo can’t reach it at the far stick. Both teams now have one delicious ball to their name.
2 min: Broja skins Varane down the right and rolls a tasty ball across the face of the United goal. Elyounoussi couldn’t keep up. Had he been able to do so, he’d have had a tap in. Old Trafford collectively gasps then sighs in relief.
Saints get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. Warm applause. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! Manchester United’s red forces Southampton into second-choice yellow and blue. This is the one, according to Ian, John, Mani and Reni. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
Ralph Hasenhuttl talks to BT Sport. “Hopefully we will do better than last time! This is always a tough place to go. We have had some good games here. We have not had a long time to prepare, Wednesday evening to Saturday lunchtime is not so long, so it’s hard for the players, but we are ready. The guys are full of self-confidence, so let’s keep on going.”
Ralf Rangnick speaks to BT. “A consistent 90 minutes is exactly what we need against an in-form team like Southampton. We played extremely well in both first halves against Middlesbrough and Burnley but only being 1-0 up you are never on the safe side, and that’s why we need this level of performance today for 90, 94, 95 minutes. We have had 66 shots on goal in the last three games and just scored three, and that’s not enough.”
Some pre-match reading. Specifically designed for your entertainment and edification.
Cristiano Ronaldo is back for Manchester United. He’s the one and only change to the team that started Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Burnley. Edinson Cavani makes way.
Southampton are unchanged. No big surprise there, given Ralph Hasenhuttl’s delight at his side’s performance in the 3-2 win at Tottenham on Wednesday.
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The teams
Manchester United: de Gea, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Pogba, McTominay, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Ronaldo.
Subs: Jones, Mata, Lingard, Henderson, Alex Telles, Wan-Bissaka, Elanga, Mejbri, Lindelof.
Southampton: Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Salisu, Perraud, S Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Elyounoussi, Broja, Adams.
Subs: Stephens, Long, A Armstrong, Caballero, Djenepo, Smallbone, Livramento, Diallo, Valery.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).
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Preamble
After dropping a couple of points at Burnley during the week, Manchester United really need all three this lunchtime as they continue fighting for a top-four finish. What sort of resistance Southampton put up depends very much on which way you look at it: they shipped nine goals here last February, albeit having been reduced to ten men after 79 seconds, but on the other hand won at Spurs three evenings ago with a performance full of - some positive italics this time - joie de vivre. There are usually goals when these two meet - 29 in the last seven meetings - so here’s to some more this afternoon. Kick off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Arsenal | 22 | 9 | 39 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 23 | 6 | 39 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 1 | 36 |
| 9 | Brighton | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Southampton | 23 | -7 | 28 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 22 | -4 | 27 |
