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Southampton 2-3 Manchester United: Instrumental Cavani inspires comeback
Edinson Cavani’s introduction proved masterful for Manchester United as they struggled to win 3-2 at Southampton.
Edinson Cavani inspired a big change when Manchester United came back twice to beat Southampton 3-2.
A Jan Bednarek header and James Ward-Prowse’s signature free-kick had put Southampton in command at St Mary’s Stadium.
But Cavani’s introduction for the second half proved to be a masterstroke from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who paid opening dividends in the 59th minute when he pushed Bruno Fernandes to cut the deficit in half.
He then faced the midfielder’s deflected shot with a diving header to equalize and had the crucial final word when he deflected a Marcus Rashford cross past Alex McCarthy in the 92nd minute, securing an eighth straight away win in the Premier League for United.
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4 & 8 – Manchester United are the first team in Premier League history to win four straight away games despite trailing in every tie, celebrating eight straight wins in the top flight for the first time. Spine. #SOUMNU pic.twitter.com/uOFPmbz2Iy
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 29, 2020
United should have been ahead in the seventh minute when Alex Telles played Mason Greenwood following poor defense from Jannik Vestergaard, however the forward could only hit the side net after circling McCarthy.
The visitors were on the rise from the start, but lagged behind against the progress of the game as Bednarek looked home for an excellent corner at Ward-Prowse’s near post.
Kyle Walker-Peters then saw a deflected effort to the left post before McCarthy atoned for his own mistake to prevent Fernandes from finding the equalizer.
Another punctual play by Ward-Prowse punished United for failing to seize that opportunity to restore parity, their ninth goal from a direct free kick in the Premier League screeching at the near post despite David de Gea helping out. .
De Gea then denied Moussa Djenepo after a counterattack, but received treatment after he appeared to be injured when he hit the post in a vain attempt to avoid Ward-Prowse’s free kick and was eventually replaced by Dean Henderson after halftime.
Cavani also entered the fray and had the desired impact when he chose Fernandes to turn at the corner.
Fifteen minutes later, Cavani leveled things off with a demonstration of clinical finishing that he repeated in injury time when he ducked down to head home with Rashford’s delivery and send United seventh in the table.
What does that mean? – United’s road warriors approach the top four
United are the first team in Premier League history to win four straight away games despite falling behind in each. This latest show of determination puts them just two points behind fourth-placed Leicester City, who take on Fulham on Monday, and one point behind Southampton in fifth place.
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With his magnificent second half, Cavani became the second player to directly participate in three goals in a Premier League game after entering as a substitute for the Red Devils. The only other United player to accomplish that feat was Solskjaer, who scored four goals off the bench against Nottingham Forest in 1999.
United won the treble that season and while the prospects of them doing so this season seem slim, Cavani maintaining that kind of form would be very important for a team whose young forwards lacked leading edge on Sunday.
Woe to Walker-Peters
Southampton looked shaky at the rear and Walker-Peters was a key part of that. He lost possession 23 times, more than any other Saints player. His opposite side, Ryan Bertrand (20), was second.
Opta key facts
– Manchester United are the first team in Premier League history to win four straight away games despite being behind in each.
– United have also won eight straight road games in the top flight for the first time in their history.
– Southampton have dropped 25 points from Premier League winning positions since the start of last season, second only to West Ham (31).
– Edinson Cavani is only the second player to score and assist a goal after entering as a substitute in a Premier League away with Manchester United, following Ruud van Nistelrooy against Charlton Athletic in September 2002.
– Bruno Fernandes is the fourth United player to score in five consecutive Premier League away games after Van Nistelrooy (2002 and 2003), Robin van Persie (2013) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2017).
Whats Next?
United host Cavani’s former team Paris Saint-Germain in a critical Champions League clash on Wednesday before visiting West Ham three days later. Southampton visits Brighton two days later.
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