Southampton 1-1 Manchester United
Ben Fisher’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails - see you for Roma v Fiorentina, 7.45pm sharp, I know where you live.
Full time: Wolves 0-1 Spurs Dele Alli’s early penalty has given Spurs a second 1-0 victory under Nuno Espirito Santo. Harry Kane came off the bench, missed a one-on-one and was booked.
This little cracker kicks off at 4.30pm
Full time: Southampton 1-1 Man Utd
Peep peep! Manchester United extend their unbeaten run away from home to 27 Premier League games, equalling Arsenal’s top-flight record, but the only people celebrating are the Southampton fans. It’s been a terrific day for them, a timely reminder of their team’s spirit, intensity and intelligence - and a first look at the exciting Tino Livramento. United were good in patches but sloppy and unconvincing for too much of the game. A draw was the right result.
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90+4 min The match is petering out, with United unable to get any attacking momentum.
90+1 min Pogba is booked for a ludicrous hack at Adams.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
89 min Greenwood plays a clever pass to Sancho, who sits Bednarek down and lifts a cross that is deflected into the arms of McCarthy.
88 min A draw would be a fair result. United had a superb spell after Greenwood’s goal but that aside it’s been pretty even, and Southampton have arguably had the clearer chances.
87 min ... and de Gea punches clear, though not entirely convincingly.
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87 min The indefatigable Armstrong harasses Lindelof into conceding a corner. Ward-Prowse strolls over to take it...
86 min “Hi Rob,” says Freddy Davidson. “In these last minutes I think Juan Mata should come on because he can change a game with his creativity, he’s an underrated, class player who has a great left foot and is a magician.”
86 min United make their final change: Jesse Lingard replaces Nemanja Matic.
84 min McTominay hammers a low cross that flashes through the six-yard box with no United players in there.
84 min Shaw makes an important tackle on Livramento, who was haring towards the area after beating Pogba down the left. On this evidence he looks a terrific signing for Southampton.
82 min Ward-Prowse’s corner is headed away by Maguire.
81 min United have lost all the momentum they had after Greenwood’s goal - or, rather, Southampton have taken it off them. They’ve been outstanding in the last 10 minutes or so and have just won another corner down the right.
BREAKING NEWS: HARRY KANE IS PLAYING FOOTBALL
Wolves 0-1 Spurs Yep, Kane has come on for Son at Molineux.
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80 min Southampton bring on Kyle Walker-Peters to replace Romain Perraud at left wing-back.
79 min Ward-Prowse’s free-kick is straight at de Gea, who decides to punch rather than catch it. Not that it matters, as it didn’t go in.
78 min The free-kick is 28 yards out, slightly to the right of centre, and James Ward-Prowse is the only show in town...
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76 min Maguire is booked for taking out Adams 25 yards from goal. At times today, Maguire has moved like an oil tanker.
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76 min Another change for United: Fred off, Scott McTominay on.
75 min: Another chance for Southampton! Ward-Prowse’s corner from the right is flicked dangerously across goal by Adams, and Armstrong at the far post almost runs the ball. In the end he can only head the ball down into the ground rather than towards goal, and United scrambled it clear.
74 min: Vital save from de Gea! Southampton almost take the lead out of nothing. Ward-Prowse robbed Maguire, who took an age on the ball in a dangerous area. Adams picked up the loose ball and slid a lovely first-time pass through to Armstrong in the area. He watched the ball onto his left foot and hit a low shot that was superbly saved to his left by de Gea. As Alan Smith says on Sky, Armstrong telegraphed the shot a little bit. Even so, it was a fine save from de Gea.
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It’s still Wolves 0-1 Spurs in the other game. No sign of Harry Kane yet.
71 min Sancho plays a quick return pass to Wan-Bissaka, who is crowded out by a couple of defenders. Those two have already linked up nicely down the right.
70 min A change for Southampton: Moussa Djenepo is replaced by Ibrahima Diallo.
69 min Fernandes’s fast, furious free-kick is headed away well by Romeu at the near post. Greenwood picks up the loose ball and shoots well wide from distance.
68 min Fernandes is fouled by Djenepo on the right wing. He’ll take the free-kick himself...
68 min Southampton are struggling to get out of their third, never mind their half.
67 min “The one inclusion by Ole that did not excite me today was Matic,” says Matthew Richman. “I’m a fan of his and he’s not played badly today, but he is consistently the slowest outfield player in a side that seems to only be getting faster. I also would have preferred to see McTominay in there, but I suppose he earned a rest after last week.”
McTominay is only fit enough for the bench apparently.
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65 min: Vital save from McCarthy! It’s all United now. Sancho finds Wan-Bissaka, whose flat, first-time cross is thumped towards goal by the head of Fernandes. McCarthy gets down to his left to make a desperate save, I think with his face.
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64 min: Chance for Greenwood! Shaw curls an imaginative pass behind the Southampton defence that just evades the scampering Sancho. He retrieves the ball and lays it back to Fred, whose dinked cross is headed onto the roof of the net by Greenwood. A decent chance, no more than that.
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62 min We’ve just seen a replay of Greenwood’s goal. I’m pretty sure he kicked the ball against his standing foot, creating an unusual spin that helped it go through McCarthy.
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59 min: Just wide from Pogba! He’s playing so well at the moment. Greenwood found him on the edge of the D, surrounded by Southampton players. Pogba stopped dead, then suddenly zig-zagged away from a couple of defenders and slipped a left-footed shot back across goal. It beat the diving McCarthy and drifted just wide of the far post.
58 min A substitution for United: Jadon Sancho is on for Anthony Martial. He goes to the right wing and Greenwood moves up front.
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56 min So, that’s five assists already this season for Paul Pogba. Had he played in the same position on the left in the Europa League final, United would surely have won it.
It was a soft goal, in truth, not that he’ll care. Pogba tried to play a give and go with Fernades in a very tight space in the penalty the area. He couldn’t take the return ball in his stride but improvised to flick it gently back towards Greenwood, who drove a left-footed shot through the legs of the falling McCarthy and into the net. The keeper McCarthy must have been unsighted because that shouldn’t have gone straight through him like that.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Man Utd (Greenwood 55)
Mason Greenwood continues his fine start to the season!
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53 min There’s a break in play while Djenepo receives treatment. He’s fine. No sign of any Manchester United subs yet, though it shouldn’t be long before we see Jadon Sancho for the sadly ineffective Anthony Martial. They are also missing the dynamism of Scott McTominay in midfield.
52 min Livramento drives over from 25 yards. It was well over the bar but the fact he took the shot on is another demonstration of his infectious confidence.
51 min Djenepo is booked for pulling back Fred. Southampton’s tactical switch hasn’t change their aggression without the ball. If it stays like this I’m sure they’ll park the bus at some stage, but it certainly hasn’t happened yet.
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 22, 2021
48 min United appeal in vain for a penalty when Pogba’s volley hits the chest and/or hand of Salisu. It was a brilliant move from United and a sizzling volley from Pogba. The VAR team quickly decide that Salisu’s arm was in a natural position.
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46 min Peep peep! United begin the second half. Southampton have switched to a 3-5-2 system.
Half-time substitution Jan Bednarek is on for Theo Walcott.
“Hi Rob,” says Rick Harris. “Struggling to understand why Solksjaer has made so many changes to the team that stuffed Leeds. Surely this would have been the obvious game to give Sancho his full debut rather than try to get Martial kickstarted? And why buy Varane then leave him on the bench?”
So, to summarise: he made too many changes, and he should have made more?
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Half time: Southampton 1-0 Man Utd
Peep peep! Southampton are ahead through Fred’s unfortunate own goal, though it might have been disallowed for a foul on Bruno Fernandes in the build-up. It was a half of few chances, and for all their possession United rarely looked like scoring. They came from behind to win an astonishing 10 Premier League games last season, including a comeback from 2-0 on this ground, so it’s great to see they’ve started the new season by playing to their strengths.
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45 min Two minutes of added time.
44 min Shaw’s outswinging corner is headed towards goal by Matic, and McCarthy gets down smartly to his left to make a good save.
43 min Fernandes cracks the free-kick into the top of the wall.
43 min Fred’s still hanging around the free-kick, bless him.
42 min Perraud fouls Greenwood just outside the D. The free-kick is 22 yards from goal, slightly to the right of centre, and Bruno Fernandes has cordially invited everyone else to bugger off.
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40 min Greenwood does well to win a corner off Djenepo. It’s cleared and Southampton break through Livramento, who charges 70 yards down the right before crossing just in front of Armstrong. That was a helluva run from Livramento. Moments later, the last man Maguire makes a vital challenge on Walcott in the area.
40 min United have various options on the bench if it stays like this, or gets worse. The obvious one is Sancho for Martial, who has done nothing. That would mean moving Mason Greenwood up front.
39 min Fernandes floats a nice pass over the defence towards Greenwood, who slices a volley well wide. It was a tricky chance, even for him.
38 min Now Fred is fuming after a corner is given, when he was convinced the last touch came off Perraud. Ward-Prowse’s near-post corner is headed away well by Pogba.
36 min Nothing much is happening. United look a bit rattled by the goal, or maybe they’re just burning with a sense of injustice.
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34 min The goal has been given to Adams, at least for now.
31 min Fernandes was booked for his protests. I think that would have been given as a foul last season, though it probably wasn’t a clear and obvious error.
Bruno Fernandes thought he was fouled by Stephens in the build up - and he has a case - but the referee disagreed. The ball was moved from Stephens to Djenepo to Armstrong and finally to Adams, whose optimistic left-footed shot from 20 yards took a huge deflection off Fred and drifted into the bottom corner. I’d need to see a few more replays to be sure, but that might go down as a Fred own goal.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Man Utd (Adams 30)
Edit: it’s a very good spell for Southampton!
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29 min Djenepo cuts into the area from the left, beats Matic with a stepover but then runs into Fred’s block tackle. This is a good spell for Southampton though.
27 min That Greenwood incident has energised the Southampton players, not to mention the crowd, and they have started winning the ball higher up the field again. Djenepo does just that and combines with Armstrong, who curls over the bar from 20 yards. He looks lively, Armstrong, a typical Ralph Hasenhuttl forward.
26 min Now Fernandes has a go at the ref after being penalised for a challenge on Perraud. It was a clear foul.
25 min If United avoid defeat they will equal Arsenal’s record of 27 away games unbeaten in the English top flight. That was in 2003-04, not 2001-02, since you asked.
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23 min Greenwood is down holding his face after wearing Djenepo’s elbow on the underside of his jar. The referee stops play, and gets a mouthful from Jack Stephens. The crowd are also unhappy, but Greenwood was definitely elbowed. It wasn’t malevolent; you can, though, understand why the ref stopped play.
22 min This is straight to look a bit ominous for Southampton, who are having to work extremely hard defensively. Greenwood’s corner from the right is punched clear by McCarthy.
20 min Paul Pogba has been pretty lively. We’ve just seen a replay of a delicious long pass with the outside of the foot that I missed somewhere along the way.
18 min Southampton fans are addressing their former player Luke Shaw with a familiar chant. Three words, four syllables; you can probably work it out.
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16 min United are dominating possession now; in fact, they’ve had 72 per cent in the match, and that includes the first few minutes when they barely had a kick.
15 min Vital defending from Livramento, who nicks the ball off Pogba on the edge of the area.
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Spurs (Alli 9 pen) Dele Alli wins and then scores a penalty to give Spurs the lead at Molineux. He’s still only 25, you know.
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13 min United are having a good spell, with Southampton committing a few fouls in dangerous areas. Another Shaw free-kick finds Pogba, who heads over from eight yards. That was a decent chance, but he couldn’t get quite over the top of the ball.
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11 min Shaw’s free-kick from the left clears everyone in the middle and finds Pogba beyond the far post. He kills the ball, waits for it bounce and spanks a shot that is blocked by Salisu in the sixy-yard box. I’m not sure McCarthy would have saved that.
8 min “Ralph Hasenhuttl squinting into the sun (with his scruffily stubbled face and his sleeves rolled up) looks like Glenn Hoddle,” says Neill Brown, “if Glenn Hoddle was a bare knuckle boxer.”
I’ve heard some ifs in my time - hi auntie! - but that’s right up there.
7 min That was an absurd incident. At least two players, Maguire and McCarthy, lost their footing, and then Salisu almost kneed it into his own net while trying to clear. Happily for him, Livramento was on the line and able to clear.
6 min: MAGUIRE HITS THE BAR! Fred is fouled clumsily by Perraud, which means a free-kick to United on the right wing. Bruno Fernandes’s wicked ball into the area hits Maguire, who is in the process of falling over, and somehow loops onto the top of the bar with McCarthy stumbling backwards into the net. The rebound drops to Martial, whose header is desperately cleared off the line by a combination of Salisu and Livramento.
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5 min It’s been a high-energy start from Southampton, who are picking their moments to press on what is a fairly warm day. United haven’t got going yet.
3 min Some good early pressing from Southampton, as you’d expect. Armstrong robs Maguire and wins a corner, this time on the right. Ward-Prowse’s outswinger is cleared.
1 min Fred gives away a free-kick after 20-odd seconds. The free-kick is 35 yards out, in the inside-left channel, and Ward-Prowse tries to catch de Gea out with a surprise shot towards the near post. De Gea, who was indeed surprised, dives to his right and pushed it behind for a corner.
1 min Both teams are set up as expected, with Mason Greenwood playing on the right wing for United.
1 min Peep peep! Southampton kick off from right to left.
There’s a lovely noise - an authentic noise - as the players walk onto the field. Southampton are in their classy new Hummel kit; United are wearing their blue third strip. Bright yellow accents seal the deal on this already iconic shirt, offering a real burst of colour to make you stand out from the crowd. A ribbed collar locks in comfort to keep you looking and feeling your best in this must-have! We love to see our fans are repping in their United apparel, so be sure to tag us over at @weareunited on IG and use the tag #unitedstyle for a chance to be featured!
Wolves v Spurs also kicks off at 2pm, so we’ll keep you abreast of any goals in that game. Harry Kane is on the bench.
There was some pretty heartbreaking news in the week, when Denis Law announced he had been diagnosed with mixed dementia. There are no happy endings here, but there is universal love for the most brilliant, charismatic striker United have ever had.
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Some pre-match reading
Team news
Southampton are unchanged, which means home debuts for Adam Armstrong, Romain Perraud and Valentino Livramento. Manchester United’s big summer signings, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, are both on the bench. They make two changes from the team that stuffed Leeds, with Nemanja Matic and Anthony Martial coming in for Scott McTominay, who is only fit enough for the bench, and Dan James. That probably means a move to the right wing for Mason Greenwood.
Southampton (4-2-2-2) McCarthy; Livramento, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud; Ward-Prowse, Romeu; Walcott, Djenepo; Adams, Armstrong.
Substitutes: Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Valery, Redmond, Tella, Elyounoussi, Diallo, Long.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Matic; Greenwood, Fernandes, Pogba; Martial.
Substitutes: Heaton, Varane, Dalot, Mata, Lingard, James, van de Beek, McTominay, Sancho.
Referee Craig Pawson.
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Preamble
The Premier League title race is a marathon and a sprint. José Mourinho changed the rules when he arrived in England and made everyone realise that points picked up before Christmas were as valuable as those won in the second half of the season. Since then, despite the odd exception like Manchester City last season, it has been much harder to make a slow start and win the league.
That’s especially true when, like this Manchester United side, you have yet to lift a trophy of any kind. If United are to win a 21st title this season, they surely need to hit the ground sprinting. So far, so good: they plugged Leeds 5-1 last weekend, bringing back memories of the triumphant 2006-07 season, and will go top if they win at St Mary’s this afternoon.
Southampton need a fast start for very different reasons. They had a desperate second half of last season, lost three of their best players in the summer and were beaten at Everton last weekend. Ralph Hasenhuttl is a brilliant coach, but he’s got a job on this season.
Kick off 2pm.
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