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Manchester United rode their luck at times, especially at the start of the game, but eventually secured three points with a 3-0 demolition of Southampton on Saturday.
Diogo Dalot conceded a penalty in the 30th minute with the Saints firmly on top at that stage. However, Andre Onana stood tall, saving the resultant spot-kick to keep the scores level.
The visitors sprang into life after that and scored twice within six minutes, through Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford and never relinquished control after that.
Alejandro Garnacho scored late on to add gloss to the scoreline to ease the pressure on Erik ten Hag, who has been given four games to save his job.
Under-fire duo strike back
The major positives for the Dutchman, apart from the victory, will be the fact that two of his most under-fire players managed to silence their critics.
Going into the game, the Mancunian was heavily criticised for his lacklustre showings at the start of the season, something that has affected the forward. He was also not called up by England yet again.
But his curling effort which doubled United’s lead seemed to give the Englishman confidence and the winger was much more dangerous in the second-half.
He kept running at his man and even started shooting from distance, hallmarks of his game when he is on top.
As for De Ligt, a couple of mistakes on international duty meant he was firmly in the limelight and every mistake would be heavily scrutinised.
He started slowly, but soon grew into the game and eventually made a couple of crucial blocks before a fine header to hand his team the lead.
There were calls for Ten Hag to drop the duo but he kept faith and now will be hoping the duo can kick on from here and carry on the momentum with huge games to come before the next international break.
Injury scare
It was not all good news for the Red Devils at St Mary’s as four defenders suffered injuries with Noussair Mazraoui’s issue seemingly the most serious out of the lot.
The Moroccan was seen clutching his groin and given his poor injury record, Ten Hag will be concerned especially due to his limited options at full-back.
Lisandro Martinez also came off while Harry Maguire was also spotted limping. Even De Ligt came off with cramp and hopefully, none of the trio will be out for long.
Up next is Barnsley in the EFL Cup and Ten Hag should hand key players a rest to ensure no major injuries occur.
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2024-09-14 14:02:19
