Southampton vs Manchester United: result, score and report

It wasn’t much of a look as Edinson Cavani spent the first 26 seconds of the second half fixing his boots on the bench as Manchester United set out to turn around a 2-0 deficit against Southampton. Among United’s problems, untied laces rank fairly low on the list, but speak to the basics they are struggling to get right.

What followed, however, was a salvo from the Uruguayan who preached the benefit of going when you’re good and ready. Because it was the 33-year-old who turned the game around, assisting Bruno Fernandes, scoring the draw, his first league goal for the club, and then ducking down to grab the winning goal in the 92nd minute. Week in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaned on the power of nostalgia, speaking of the glory of yesteryear as a model for the present, here was a comeback that Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams would have been proud of.

Their presentation not only increased United’s threat at the top, it made them more attractive across the field. Ralph Hassenhutl may be wondering how the hell his team, seven games undefeated as one of the fit teams in the division, let such an advantage slip away and seemingly with little power to stop it.

Once again, it was James Ward-Prowse who was the architect of Southampton’s success, bringing dead balls to life twice in the first 33 minutes. The first was a close-post corner kick that Jan Bednarek helped into the net. The second was direct and equally lethal, launching his ninth direct free kick in the Premier League – only David Beckham, 18, has more – and one that compounded the rival’s misery when David de Gea was injured in his failed attempt to keep out. . The Spaniard was replaced at halftime by Dean Henderson.

The play leading up to the game’s opening goal was rough, in part because both teams settled in with respect for each other.

Manchester United midfield four from Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek (making his first Premier League start) were positioned in an area between midfield and defense to give Southampton’s men Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Djenepo, a reason to look over their shoulders. Similarly, Hassenhutl’s team softened the way they attacked, especially in transition, knowing that United’s main attacking threat is on the counter. With Anthony Martial missing after contracting an illness overnight, Mason Greenwood, also in his first league start to the season, would be the one to carry that threat to the top with Marcus Rashford.

It should have been Greenwood who grabbed the first goal of the game, rushing into an Alex Telles pass past defense to carry it past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy only to end up at the side net. He would have another chance later, this one to make it 1-1, when McCarthy’s terrible pass found Greenwood 20 yards away with an uninhibited route to goal. McCarthy parried a scratchy left-foot strike, who really made peace with a world-class follow-up save, lifted off the ground and then fully extended to his right to prevent Fernandes from drawing.

McCarthy would join his account early in the second half, standing tall to take a shot from Rashford that should have been better placed, especially with Cavani looking at a wide goal to his right. The Uruguayan, who replaced Greenwood, immediately offered a greater threat on the right wing, and it was here that he crossed for Fernandes, who controlled the dead ball and passed it over the goalkeeper to finally put United on the scoreboard.

The roles were reversed in the 74th minute when Fernandes’ own shot caught a deflection or two and was attacked by Cavani, who got ahead of something that meant the charge inside the area paid off. The rebounds from the rojiblancas jerseys presented the ball perfectly for a header.

When the winner came along, and it always felt like it was going to come, and it always felt like it was going to be Cavani, it was at a time when Southampton felt they had done enough. But with his legs on and his mind drained, the fittest and brightest was left on the field to complete the change.

Rashford found room to the left to control his right foot and hit the near post where, for the umpteenth time, Cavani had bet and won. The ball slid over the top of the dome and into the net to complete the change and finish off the final cameo.

As it happens, Cavani became the second player to participate in three Premier League goals after entering halftime. First? His coach against Nottingham Forest in February 1999. Thinking back to the old days can be old and could speak to Solskjaer’s limitations. But, as we add “St Mary’s, November 2020” to its featured results, it’s clear that it has its moments.