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Manchester United 3 Southampton 2 | Talking Points

Manchester United extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 12 games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after defeating Southampton 3-2 in a topsy-turvy affair at Old Trafford.

The game showcased three goals of the highest order – all of which have the potential to win the goal of the month award. However, even more fuel has been added to the fire in the widely debated topic of VAR as Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl felt his team deserved more from the game.

Southampton opened the scoring in the 26th minute through French youngster, Yan Valery. Charlie Austin opened up the play and released the ball to Valery, who was galloping down the right-hand side of midfield. It seemed a fairly standard attacking move which would normally result in the winger taking the ball down the outside and whipping in a cross. But with one touch to set and one to strike, Valery hammered the ball in to the top right-hand corner from 25 yards out, beating De Gea at his near post. His first goal in the Premier League was certainly one to be remembered.

The second half was an exciting one and in the 53rd minute Andreas Pereira unleashed a peach of a strike to level the scoring. Diogo Dalot, who made a fantastic impact off the bench, worked his way down the line and released the ball to Pereira, who cut back on his right foot and curled the ball into the top right corner, well and truly beating Angus Gunn in the Southampton goal. His first Premier League goal also came in style.

With United on the up it was only a matter of time before they grabbed their second through Romelu Lukaku. Pereira was the orchestrator of this goal, once again involved in what was his best performance in a United shirt to date, sliding the ball through to Lukaku after riding a challenge on the edge of the box. An uncharacteristically good first touch saw the Belgian shift the ball on to his right foot and firmly place the ball in to the bottom right corner of the net. The hosts were seemingly in the driving seat in the 58th minute.



The 75th minute saw James Ward-Prowse level the scoring with a magnificent free-kick from 25 yards out, curling the ball excellently in to the top left-hand corner of the net. The Englishman is someone who seems to be flourishing under Hasenhuttl.

A tense last 15-minutes saw Manchester United grab a late winner in the 89th minute. A deflected pass from Fred fell nicely for Lukaku, and for a left footed player, he curled it beautifully in to the bottom right hand corner from just outside the area with his right foot, giving Southampton almost no time to respond.

Paul Pogba failed to extend the home side’s lead in the 94th minute from a penalty won by Marcus Rashford. The spot kick was saved by Gunn’s trailing leg, and despite the visiting goalkeeper having a fantastic game, United came away with all three points.

Call for VAR

Incidents in games like these are where teams can win trophies or face relegation, and unfortunately in Southampton’s case, it is the latter. Stuart Attwell’s first questionable decision came when the Saints were 1-0 up as Bertrand muscled his way around Chris Smalling and was felled before going down in the box. It was one that would go in the “it’s a foul anywhere else on the pitch” category.

A few minutes later, Bertrand was once again the instigator. After going down in the area, no penalty was given, much to the left-back’s dismay. After already being on a yellow card, if the decision is not a penalty for contact in the box, then surely a second yellow for simulation was due. A lack of bottle from the referee, on both sides of the argument.

The salt in the wounds came through Lukaku’s first goal. Taking nothing away from the finish, there was a strong claim for offside. Offside decisions and VAR have been topics that often come hand-in-hand. The replays show Lukaku’s front half of his body in an offside position. If VAR was used then this goal would have been ruled out. Hasenhuttl can certainly count himself unlucky not to have left Old Trafford with at least a point after analysing these key decisions.

Ralph’s revolution

Although the result did not go the way that he would have wanted, one thing is for sure: young players are really getting their chance and flourishing thanks to Hasenhuttl’s philosophies. James Ward-Prowse has now scored five goals in his last nine appearances for the Saints. Whereas under Mark Hughes, the young Englishman rarely got a chance, he is now becoming one of the main attacking threats for Southampton. His ability on the ball and from set piece situations have always been evident, but now they are being positively exploited under the reign of Hasenhuttl, with rumours of an England recall starting to grow.



Another player that has risen from relative obscurity is Yan Valery. After the departure of Cedric Soares to Inter Milan, the full-back situation looked bare for the Saints, but Hasenhuttl placed his trust in the young Frenchman. After a shaky start, his confidence is now flowing, displayed by the audacity to even attempt a strike from 25 yards out against arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, never mind put it in the top corner. With his positive outlook on the club, it is hard to see the South Coast outfit going down and hopefully for them, Hasenhuttl stays and builds on what he has already done for the club.

Switch in the play

Romelu Lukaku is a player who, on his day, can be unplayable. However, up until late his form hasn’t been at the required level and Rashford was ahead of him in the pecking order. His luck changed when Anthony Martial got injured and Lukaku’s place in the starting XI was restored, not in his usual centre forward position, but on the right-hand side of the front three. Since then, the Belgian has scored four goals in two games and is looking like the striker that United paid 75 million pounds for. Lukaku has always been known as a confidence player, and at this point in time his confidence is at an all time high. This is worrying news for Anthony Martial, as the bench may be where he will stay for a while should Lukaku’s form continue. Although this is far from ideal for Martial, considering his status under Jose Mourinho, this is the kind of selection headache that

Is it ever Gunnar end?

Since Solskjaer took over, United have gone on a 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League. By anyone’s standards, that is impressive. Having played the likes of Liverpool and Spurs in those 12 games it hasn’t been the easiest of runs for United, but they have pulled through regardless. A lot has been said about the introduction of Solskjaer and that he is simply letting the players do what they want. A more feasible reasoning would be the re-introduction of Mike Phelan, an extremely knowledgeable and hard-working assistant coach who worked very closely with Sir Alex Ferguson. With these two working in tandem, it could spell good times for United faithful, who in recent years have not enjoyed the success they became accustomed to under Ferguson. However, if this streak continues, who knows what could be in store for the Red Devils next season.

Safe, just.

Southampton are now two points clear from the relegation zone thanks to results going their way this weekend. They were unfortunate not to get at least a point from this game, but if they play with this amount of passion and courage in the remainder of their games, safety should not be a problem for the Saints. Should they manage to stay in the top flight and hold on to Hasenhuttl and their star players, while bringing in reinforcement to their squad, they may well be a force to be reckoned with next season.

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