-
Rob dawsonCorrespondent
Manchester United conceded a tie in the 96th minute when Southampton took the Premier League tie 2-2 at Old Trafford on Monday.
United came from behind to lead 2-1 and looked set to beat Leicester City and Chelsea in the Champions League football race before Michael Obafemi’s goal in halftime. Stuart Armstrong gave the visitors the lead in the first half after an error by Paul Pogba, but United returned the goal with two goals in three minutes before halftime through Marcus Rashford and then Anthony Martial, who scored their 21st goals of the season.
Positive
Despite the late draw, there are still 18 unbeaten matches for United. With Crystal Palace, West Ham and Leicester to play in their remaining three games, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have a good chance of finishing in the top four and securing Champions League football next season.
Negative
Solskjaer will want his team to start games faster than they have been recently. Bournemouth scored first at Old Trafford before receiving five and Aston Villa was the best team for the first 25 minutes at Villa Park. Here, Southampton deservedly took the lead after an impressive first 20 minutes before Rashford and Martial’s goals. Perhaps another slow start would have been forgotten if the Saints hadn’t reached a late goal.
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN + (US only)
– Gab & Juls podcast: Is the FFP over?
– ICYMI: the last of the main leagues in Europe
Manager rating 10
7 – Solskjaer named the same starting XI for the fifth straight game in the league, the first time this has happened since 1993. Solskjaer will not be happy with the way his team started the game or conceded from a late piece. United had to end the game with 10 men after Brandon Williams left with a head injury and the United boss had already used up all three of his allotted replacement spaces.
Player Ratings (1-10; 10 = Better, Players submitted after 70 minutes do not get a rating)
GK David De Gea, 7 years old – Playing for United 400 times. He made a good stop for Nathan Redmond’s effort.
DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 6 years old – His hands were full with Redmond and he didn’t go as far as he would have liked.
DF Luke Shaw, 7 years old – His career and cross to Rashford deserved a goal, but the England striker was offside. He came out in the second half favoring his ankle.
DF Victor Lindelof, 5 years old Timely interception to block Redmond’s pass to Che Adams in the first half time. He was on Obafemi’s wrong side when he scored on stop spikes.
DF Harry Maguire, 6 years old – I had no idea where Armstrong was in last place when the Scottish midfielder put Southampton 1-0 up.
MF Nemanja Matic, 6 years old It seemed to be pushed very deep for much of the night. He lost the first header to Jan Bednarek before Obafemi got the last touch.
MF Paul Pogba, 5 years old He threw a fabulous pass to the right for Bruno Fernandes within the first two minutes. He lost the ball in midfield when Armstrong put Southampton in front and was hooked with half an hour to go.
MF Bruno Fernandes, 6 – I did get assistance for the Martial goal but it was a quiet night for its high standards.
FW Mason Greenwood, age 6 It had something to do with Ryan Bertrand running for him down Southampton’s left. Lucky to escape unscathed after a horror challenge from Oriol Romeu.
FW Marcus Rashford, age 8 – Good finish in the farthest corner to make it 1-1. Best game since coming back from injury.
FW Anthony Martial, 8 years old – He missed a golden opportunity early on, but then did brilliantly to set up Rashford’s equalizer and scored a fantastic individual goal soon after.
Substitutes
MF Fred, 6 years old – He replaced Pogba and could not prevent Southampton from taking control.
DF Brandon Williams, N / R – He entered for the cowardly Shaw before having to leave the field with an injury.
MF Scott McTominay, N / R – He saw six minutes of action after replacing Fernandes.
FW Daniel James, N / R – You couldn’t have a real impact in place of Greenwood for the final moments of the game.
.
