Match report
Mad Dogs. There’s the agenda for the next few days set, then. Gotta love Jose, he’s always worth the price of the ticket. All that’s left is to point you in the direction of Paul Doyle’s match report, and to wish you luck getting rid of the following earworm. Thanks for reading. Nighty night!
And now Jose! “We lost so many balls in midfield, in our transitions to the last third, it was difficult to have that continuity. The reason we did so well in the last 20 minutes of the first half was we connected with our attacking players by transporting the ball well, leaving it at the right moment, the right choice of pass, play it simple. In the second half we went back to the dynamic where we lose too many balls in the midfield, and when the players don’t understand that simplicity is genius, and they keep and keep and keep playing complicated football, it is difficult. But we had good spirit to come back to 2-2, good fight, a great example of players fighting to their limit. Positive examples are Marcus Rashford and Phil Jones, many others showing respect for the shirt. That respect for the club. The first goal was because we don’t press enough. It is something we do wrong, doesn’t matter the system we play, it is down to the characteristics of the players. We don’t have many mad dogs, the ones that bite the ball all the time, the ones who press all the time. We don’t have many with that spirit.”
Mark Hughes speaks! “We have to view it as a positive. We’ve been playing well for a number of weeks. But when you don’t get the results people expect or demand, then sometimes you don’t get the credit for the level of performance. But I thought we did really well. Clearly there was a couple of moments defensively when we had chances to clear our lines, and we didn’t do that as well as I would have liked. And as a consequence, we let them get back into the game. But in the second half, we were better in that regard and restricted United to very few efforts in goal. I can’t recall a time when we were really under the cosh. Not a lot of momentum generated by United. That’s credit to us. In terms of efforts on goal, we edged that, so overall I’m really pleased. It’s a positive point. We will build on that. This gives us confidence. Ideally we would have preferred three points, but we can’t complain.”
Southampton’s man of the match, Nathan Redmond, speaks to BT Sport, and begins with a sigh. “Yeah, two up! We had a foothold in the game. We’ve been working hard on a few different formations in the last few weeks, and we stuck with this one from the midweek. It paid off in the first half, but we’re kicking ourselves a little bit for not managing the game better. We’ll have to learn to pick up more points. We started on the front foot, we have to build on some of the good things, and learn from the bad. We wanted to impose ourselves and fight. We did that.”
That point serves Saints a little better than United. They’re still in the bottom three, but leapfrog Burnley, who appear to be in all sorts of trouble. They’re a point behind Huddersfield in 17th. United meanwhile stay in seventh, now level on 22 points with Everton. They’ll go sixith tomorrow should Liverpool win the Merseyside derby by six goals, but presumably they’ll not want that to happen.
FULL TIME: Southampton 2-2 Manchester United
Nope. Young’s free kick is easily cleared, and the referee blows his whistle. That game was a lot of fun. A draw seems a fair result. Hughes seems the happier, blowing out his cheeks with relief, while Jose stomps off down the tunnel.
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90 min +5: United go up the other end, Young buying a cheap foul from a panicked Armstrong. The Saints midfielder is booked. Can United score yet another late winner?
90 min +4: Gabbiadini dribbles down the inside-right channel. He cuts across Young, in hot pursuit. Young clatters him to the turf, and that’s his fifth booking of the season. Suspension ahoy! And a free kick, 25 yards out. Saints line up on the edge of the United box ... and so Gabbiadini decides to go for goal and blooters a preposterous effort miles over the bar. What a waste! On the touchline, Mark Hughes is incandescent.
90 min +3: Fellaini takes receipt of the throw, and clanks it straight back out of play. In the United dugout, Mourinho throws his hands around in the expressive style, while talking quite a lot and frowning.
90 min +2: It’s United pressing for the winner. They pen Saints back into their final third, and earn a throw down the left. Before it can be taken, Lemina is replaced by Davis.
90 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, Young lifts a very poor free kick high into the box, allowing McCarthy to claim with ease.
90 min: Martial dribbles down the left. Down a dead end. But Hojbjerg foolishly barges into his back, turning a lost cause into a very dangerous free kick. United load the box!
89 min: Ah there we go. United have pushed Fellaini forward!
88 min: United stroke it around the middle of the park, showing very little desire to go forward. But then they prefer to score their winners in the 90th minute these days, having done so against Bournemouth, Juventus and Young Boys in recent weeks. Maybe they’re just biding their time. Is another Jose Time stunner on the cards?
86 min: Lingard replaces Lukaku.
84 min: Lukaku stands on the ball and falls over. For some reason, the referee decides to stop the game, with Saints in possession. On the touchline, several litres of hot steam pour from Mark Hughes’ lugs.
83 min: Redmond skitters down the right. He overruns the ball, but it breaks to Hojbjerg, who rolls it to the left for Gabbiadini. The Italian’s snapshot is blocked the second it leaves his boot.
81 min: From the resulting corner, Hojbjerg flashes a header wide right.
80 min: Pogba makes a balls of a drag-back in the centre of the field, allowing Redmond to advance on the United area. He shoots from distance, and there’s enough swerve on the rising shot to force a backtracking de Gea into tipping over the bar.
79 min: A couple of folk in the United end didn’t seem particularly happy with the withdrawal of Rashford, making their feelings known by shouting while frowning. But word is the striker has a problem with his ankle.
77 min: Rashford is replaced by Martial.
76 min: Hojbjerg tries to fire a shot past de Gea from the best part of 40 yards. Full marks for ambition.
75 min: And now another decent dribble by Redmond, who George Bests his way across the face of the area, right to left, but can only shank his eventual shot well wide right.
73 min: Redmond makes two fine runs down the right within 60 seconds or so. He’s in a lot of space both times. He crosses for Armstrong, then Gabbiadini, but neither cross finds his man.
72 min: Mourinho prepares to replace Shaw with Dalot. Then it appears Shaw wishes to continue. After a moment of uncertainty, Jose presses the button and makes the substitution. Shaw’s on the wrong side of the pitch, and as he begins to make his way round to the dugout, the home fans give their former player a warm ovation. He returns the favour.
70 min: Lukaku, out on the right, tries to find Rashford in the Saints box. His cross is wildly overhit. Meanwhile Shaw is down, holding a leg. It looks like he might not be able to continue.
68 min: Gabbiadini twists and turns down the inside left, and works enough space to send a no-backlift toe-punt straight at de Gea. Up the other end, Pogba tries an overhead kick from the edge of the box. That one’s straight at the keeper as well.
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67 min: McTominay, from a deep position on the right, batters a very strange ball upfield and out of play for a goal kick on the left. Goodness knows what he was trying there.
65 min: Pogba bursts away from Lemina in the midfield and very nearly slips Lukaku free down the middle. Not quite, and Saints are able to batter the ball clear.
63 min: But Obafemi looks to have tweaked his hamstring making that run. There’s still enough time for him to claim a penalty, as McTominay (legally) pokes the ball away from him as the pair fall in the United box. And then he’s replaced by Gabbiadini. He’s afforded a warm round of applause as he limps off.
62 min: Stephens slips over, and very nearly allows Rashford to scamper clear. The defender does very well to drape himself over the ball, then get up and clear. He then sends Obafemi away on a magical dribble towards the United area. He slips the ball wide to Redmond, who can’t find anyone in the centre. A fine run by the young man.
60 min: Yoshida heads Young’s free kick behind for a corner on the right. Rashford takes. It’s half cleared. The ball flies to the former Saint, Shaw, who channels his inner Le Tissier and flicks the ball up with his left, then sends a screamer goalwards with his right. It’s a bit overambitious, though, and sails harmlessly wide.
59 min: McTominay knocks the ball past Vestergaard on the outside, and rounds him on the other. The defender hangs out a cynical leg, and that’s a booking too. A free kick out on the right. Young’s over it again.
58 min: Obafemi is going away from goal. Pogba pulls him back. He’s playing with fire having been booked. The referee issues a harsh word or two. Redmond takes the resulting free kick, right of centre, 25 yards out. It’s straight at de Gea.
56 min: Redmond is the only Saints player showing anything in attack right now. He’s made a couple of dribbles down the left since the restart; this one sees him one-two with Hojbjerg, only to fire his cross behind Obafemi and Armstrong in the middle.
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54 min: Lemina repays Pogba by kicking the back of his leg, and pulls his shirt for good measure. That’s a booking, his fifth of the season. He’ll be serving a suspension soon as a result.
53 min: Lemina is in the process of swanning past Pogba when the World Cup winner clips him to the floor. That’s a booking.
52 min: Fellaini gets a jump on the entire Southampton rearguard. But he clanks his header wide right from close range. That was a real chance for the big man. An accordingly pained look spreads across his grid.
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51 min: Vestergaard clatters into Rashford out on the United right. A free kick, and an opportunity for United to pile everyone forward. Young is over it.
50 min: United hog the ball. They go nowhere in particular with it, but they’re establishing a level of control that was completely lacking for most of that first half.
48 min: ... McCarthy comes off his line and flaps. But he’s been put under excessive pressure by McTominay, and the referee blows up for a foul. McTominay’s header clears the bar anyway.
47 min: Fellaini wins the ball cheaply in the midfield, Saints not yet out of the dressing room. He lays off to Pogba, who considers a shot but shuttles the ball wide left to Shaw. The full back wins a corner. From which, another corner. From which ...
Here we go again, then. United get the ball rolling once more. No half-time changes. Good luck predicting the final score on the evidence of that first half.
Half-time reading. If you’re in the market for some more Premier League match reports, you’ve come to the right place. (Those desirous of the Palace-Burnley and City-Bournemouth reports need only scroll back to the start.)
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HALF TIME: Southampton 2-2 Manchester United
Well, those 47 minutes fair whistled by! Southampton were magnificent for half an hour; United dreadful. Then the last 15 minutes were all United. A half of three thirds. Please don’t go away; anything could happen in the second half.
45 min +1: Herrera launches one goalwards from 20 yards. It’s straight down McCarthy’s throat. United’s tails are up.
45 min: Cedric is sent into a little space down the left after some good work from Armstrong and Obafemi. But his cross is wildly overhit. There will be two minutes of additional time.
44 min: Lemina strides down the inside-right channel and has a rake from distance. It’s blocked easily enough.
42 min: United stroke it around a lot. Effortlessly so. Suddenly football seems a lot easier. A funny thing, confidence, huh?
40 min: How a game can change in an instant! Suddenly Mark Hughes has a face like thunder. United win a corner down the left. Stephens clears Rashford’s delivery easily enough, but all of a sudden it’s Saints who look in tatters, with United now first to everything! It’s been a very strange match, this. But what entertainment!
GOAL! Southampton 2-2 Manchester United (Herrera 39)
Well this has turned around quickly! Rashford turns past Vestergaard and zips down the inside-right channel. He reaches the byline and tugs the ball back for Herrera, who Lee Sharpes a backflick into the bottom right corner!
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38 min: Hojbjerg balloons the free kick over the bar. Maybe he should have left it for Cedric.
37 min: Hojbjerg tries to burst out of a thicket of players out on the right and into the United box. Herrera cynically tugs him back, and this is another dangerous free kick, this time to the right of the D.
35 min: That was some finish by Lukaku. It nearly took the net off. And then a yellow card for Fellaini, who wafted an arm into the face of Lemina. Followed by a yellow for Hojbjerg, who hung out a leg to obstruct Pogba. In the words of Danny Boon: it’s all happening!
GOAL! Southampton 2-1 Manchester United (Lukaku 33)
This is more like it from United! Pogba slips a ball down the middle for Rashford, who bounces off Yoshida; it’s a poor challenge by the Saints defender. Rashford runs at the Saints box, then rolls a pass into the path of Lukaku, who meets it first time, and at full pace. He lashes an unstoppable shot into the top right, and suddenly this looks very different for Mourinho’s men!
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32 min: Rashford turns on the jets to latch onto a long ball down the left from Shaw. He’s got the beating of Yoshida, but when he reaches the byline, his pullback doesn’t find Lukaku. Both players hold their heads in their hands.
30 min: Cedric earns a corner down the left. Armstrong’s delivery is decent, but flicked clear by Pogba. But the ball’s soon worked all the way back round to Armstrong, who very nearly one-twos his way clear down the inside-left channel. He can’t quite take the return ball with him. United’s defence is a study in uncertainty.
28 min: Rashford launches a shot from 25 yards into the night air. On the touchline, there’s a sad, worried look in Mourinho’s eyes. I preferred the smiley, twinkly version earlier.
27 min: Redmond is snapping around United’s ankles. He reaches the byline down the right, but his cutback is blocked by Matic. Then he nearly strips the ball from McTominay, who takes his sweet time to clear his lines. Saints look full of confidence. United do not.
25 min: ... the ball’s worked from left to right. Young whips a cross to the far post, where McTominay heads tamely over. But this is at least a response from United, who have been very passive otherwise.
24 min: ... Rashford whips in, earning a corner off Stephens. From which ...
23 min: Nope. Armstrong heads it clear calmly. United try to come back at Saints, through Shaw out on the left. Valery crunches into a fine tackle. But then the young man blocks Pogba, so it’ll be another free kick for United, this time out on the left. The box is once again loaded. And ...
22 min: Now a free kick for United, out on the right. United load the Saints box. Can Young deliver?
GOAL! Southampton 2-0 Manchester United (Cedric 20)
Cedric takes a step, then flicks a shot up, over the wall, and into the top left corner! That free kick was hit so sweetly, snugly in the corner, whipped crisply over the United wall! Again poor de Gea had no chance! In the stand, Sir Alex Ferguson allows himself a wry smile. Now there’s a man who knows quality when he sees it.
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19 min: Lemina has a whack from 25 yards. It’s blocked. Lemina picks up the rebound, and drives down the inside-left channel. He’s brought down by Rashford, who is rather harshly booked for the foul. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position, just to the left of the D.
17 min: Some space for Shaw out on the left. But his cross balloons off the boot of young Valery and is plucked from the sky by McCarthy.
15 min: That’s three goals in two Premier League games for Armstrong. And now the former Celtic man swans past Fellaini in the midfield, forcing the big Manchester United midfielder to drag him to the ground. The ref wags his finger a bit. United look a little shell-shocked right now.
GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Manchester United (Armstrong 13)
Redmond dribbles inside from the right. He’s allowed to skip past several United players, none of them making anything remotely looking like a challenge. He lays off to Obafemi, who shows great vision for such a young player, sliding a pass back to the right for Armstrong in space; the in-form Scotland midfielder smashes a shot across de Gea and into the bottom left! The keeper had no chance.
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11 min: United stroke the ball around the back quite a lot. Saints can’t get a sniff. The visitors have enjoyed 58% of the possession so far. Pogba then tries to spring Shaw free down the left with a raking long ball, but the flag goes up for offside again, this time correctly.
9 min: McTominay launches long from the right-back position, and nearly releases Lukaku down the inside-left channel. The flag goes up for offside, not a great decision. Meanwhile United’s travelling support break into this year’s first rendition of their festive Cantona song.
7 min: So the last thing Young should be doing is handing the hosts cheap possession. For a second, it looks like Obafemi will burst into the United area down the inside-right channel, but he can’t get a clean strike off, and though the ball breaks to Redmond to his left, the ball’s soon rolling gently into the arms of de Gea.
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5 min: Saints look nervous, as befits a team struggling at the bottom of the division. They ping a couple of passes around, but it’s nosebleed stuff the minute they cross the halfway line, and possession is quickly surrendered. “Did Mourinho also say that he wishes he had an Eric Cantona instead of a knacked Eric Bailly?” wonders Peter Oh.
3 min: Nearly a total fiasco at the back for Saints, as McCarthy fresh-air kicks a clearance. Rashford picks up the loose ball, backheeling to Lukaku, who hesitates in front of an open goal and ends up seeing his eventual shot blocked. Were Southampton watching the farce at Sheffield United this lunchtime? If they were, they didn’t take any notes.
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And we’re off! Saints get the ball rolling, and soon earn a free kick just inside the United half. The ball’s launched long, but Fellaini deals with it easily enough. A fine atmosphere at St Mary’s.
The teams are out! Southampton are in their lovely red-and-white stripes, while Manchester United wear their dark-blue change strip. It’s not quite as pretty as their old, slightly lighter blue away kit, the one Liam O’Brien got himself sent off at the Dell in 1987 after a mere 85 seconds. But still lovely. Everyone will be sporting their rainbow laces, though, in support of LGBT fans.
Some pre-match reading. United fans may want to look away, because there’s now 17 points between their heroes and those folk across town ...
... while Saints fans won’t have been particularly pleased to see Crystal Palace break their long drought at Selhurst Park.
Both managers seemed on good form in those pre-match interviews. Hughes appeared extremely relaxed, no mean feat given the rumours surrounding his employment status. Jose meanwhile was particularly pleased with his Nemanja joke; it really tickled him. It’s nice to see him smile again.
And now Jose does his thing. “I have only one centre half. I would like a Nemanja Vidic but I only have a Nemanja Matic, and he’s a midfield player! Smalling has a pain in his foot, so he is not available. Eric has a pain in his back. Rojo trained for the first time with the group and is not ready to start. Lindelof has an injury. The only centre half we have to play is Phil. Southampton is a club of great stability in terms of quality, they are a good Premier League team with lots of good players. So I don’t look to the table, I look to them. A difficult match for us.”
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Mark Hughes speaks! “We’ve had our struggles here, we’ve done OK in a lot of games but have been unable to take that final step. So it’s a big test today but if we’re going to break that cycle, why not do it against Manchester United? Charlie Austin has had a decent run, and plenty of games. I’ve just went with Nathan Redmond and Michael Obafemi, I liked what I saw in midweek, he gives us a threat in behind. We need an out ball and we’ll have it with those two. Stuart Armstrong has been playing well of late, he’s had good performances for his international team, he’s coming into a bit of form. United have great resources and great players, I’m sure Jose will have a great plan.”
Setting the scene. The dressing rooms at St Mary’s have a lovely 1970s department store look about them. Glass cabinet containing handkerchiefs, ties and cravats just out of shot. All together now: ♫ Ground floor, perfumery, stationery and leather goods / Wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food / Going up! ♪
Southampton hand a Premier League debut to 19-year-old French full-back Yan Valery. There’s also a first Premier League start for striker Michael Obafemi.
Manchester United make five changes to the side that stuttered against Young Boys on Tuesday. Chris Smalling, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Luis Valencia and Fred make way for Scott McTominay, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young.
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The teams
Southampton: McCarthy, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Stephens, Valery, Hojbjerg, Lemina, Armstrong, Cedric, Redmond, Obafemi.
Subs: Hoedt, Davis, Austin, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Gabbiadini, Gunn.
Manchester United: de Gea, Young, McTominay, Jones, Shaw, Matic, Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba, Lukaku, Rashford.
Subs: Mata, Martial, Lingard, Rojo, Fred, Dalot, Romero.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
Preamble
Southampton versus Manchester United: a replay of the 2017 League Cup final. And the 1976 FA Cup final. And the 1963 FA Cup semi-final. And a couple of the most famous games in Premier League history, an Egil Ostenstad-inspired 6-3 rout and that grey Viewcam shirt fiasco. Dig in! Enjoy!
Yes, Southampton had quite the home record against United back in the day. Now, not so much. They haven’t beaten United at St Mary’s since 2003, when James Beattie snaffled the only goal late on. Since then, United have traipsed all the way down to the south coast on ten occasions, and won eight times. To be fair, Saints have recently started giving United plenty of trouble at Old Trafford, winning two and drawing two of their last five trips north. That provides a little balance in the overall story, though it’s of precious use to them today.
Recent form isn’t their friend either. Saints are on a dismal run: it’s three months to the day since they registered their sole Premier League win this season. It looks like a good old-fashioned relegation scrap is on the cards. United aren’t exactly pulling up trees themselves, of course, floundering in seventh place. (Hey, it’s all relative.)
But both teams will take a little succour from their performances in midweek: Saints were unlucky to be knocked out of the League Cup after putting in an improved performance at Leicester City, while United made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League almost despite themselves. Reasons to be cheerful? Maybe not completely. Reasons to be cautiously optimistic? Oh yes!
So perhaps two teams, neither on top of their game, may rediscover their mojo this evening, and put on another show that’ll make the great Saints-United canon. Let’s hope so. It’s Saturday night! Be my baby . It’s live! And it’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm.
