Manchester United had to come from 0-2 to gain only a point at struggling Southampton this evening.
Mark Hughes’ side were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes through goals from Stuart Armstrong and a Cedric Soares free kick.
Romelu Lukaku pulled one back on 34 minutes following a nice run and assist from Marcus Rashford with the Belgian striker firing past Alex McCarthy one-on-one.
Five minutes later Ander Herrera flicked home at the near post following another nice assist from Rashford. Neither side came close to finding a winner in the second half.
Here are how our players fared:
David de Gea 6 – Beaten across goal for Southampton’s opener and not a chance with their second. David de Gea didn’t make his first save until just before the hour and denied Nathan Redmond with a good 30-yard strike in the 80th minute.
Ashley Young 6 – Not too many problems defensive at right-back but overhit too crosses on the counter-attack with Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford making it two on two in the penalty area. Among his poor deliveries was on from a free kick in stoppage time.
Phil Jones 8 – Some excellent tackles and interceptions at the back from Phil Jones who also stepped up to bring the ball forward on occasion too. Neither Michael Obafemi nor Manolo Gabbiadini saw a sight on goal up front for the Saints.
Nemanja Matic 8 – Southampton’s first goal came from the right and second from a direct free kick, otherwise our centre-backs performed well.
Luke Shaw 6 – Got caught too narrow to allow Stuart Armstrong space on the right to fire the home side into an early lead. Went off injured in the final 20 minutes.
Scott McTominay 7 – Made some tackles to help start attacks and brought the ball forward at times. Missed a good headed opportunity at 0-2.
Ander Herrera 8 – Good in possession and scored our equaliser with a cheeky flick at the near post.
Marouane Fellaini 7 – Won his aerial battles as expected, unfortunate to pick up a yellow card in the first half. Not a threat going forward.
Paul Pogba 5 – Sloppy in possession and threw a frustrated attitude and lazy effort once conceding possession. Created very little as the point of the diamond in our 4-4-2 formation.
Marcus Rashford 8 – Assists for both of our goals as Marcus Rashford looked like the only player capable of making anything for us. Replaced in the final 15 minutes with an apparent ankle injury.
Romelu Lukaku 7 – Scored one-on-one to get us back into the game, made some good runs off the ball but a number of his attempted through balls and crosses were intercepted. Involved in a lot in the first half but quiet after the break before being substituted in the final five minutes.
Substitutes
Diogo Dalot (20 mins) N/A – Made his Premier League debut at right-back by replacing the injured Luke Shaw with Ashley Young moving to the left. Didn’t have much defending to do.
Anthony Martial (15 mins) N/A – Our top scorer was only introduced for the final 15 minutes after Marcus Rashford had picked up a knock. Anthony Martial barely saw a touch of the ball let alone a chance on goal.
Jesse Lingard (5 mins) N/A – Not enough time to make any impact.
