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Southampton vs United – Saints and Devils share the honours at St. Mary’s


Manchester United visited St. Mary’s Stadium to play their first away game of the 2021-2022 English Premier League season. It was a frustrating encounter for United. Hosts Southampton managed to rescue a point.

United got punished for sloppy defensive play after Southampton scored with a deflected shot in the first half. United levelled the score in the second half with a Mason Greenwood strike. The assist came from Paul Pogba, his fifth of the season. The match ended 1-1.

It was an absorbing match, to put it in a nice way! Frustrating day at work from United perspective. Below are some key talking points from the game.

Flawed Team Selection

Ole started Nemanja Matic and Fred Rodrigues in midfield – for lack of a better defensive midfielder! Scott McTominay was named among the substitutes due to lack of full fitness. He did come on in the second half though.

It appears that Matic and Fred can afford to make as many mistakes as they can and still be given more opportunities than Donny van de Beek. I find it hypocritical. The midfielders you’ve deplyed are playing terrible and you’ve got a good one available on the bench. And you’re not giving him a chance. Lack of boldness, risk taking approach.

Starting Anthony Martial was a risk worth taking. However, it clearly didn’t pay off. Martial offered nothing up front. I doubt he will start matches anytime soon. His place is either the bench or another club.

When asked by MUTV why Jadon Sancho and Raphaël Varane were left on the bench, Ole Gunnar Solskjær responded: “Of course you’re tempted, but you need to give them the foundation.”

Well, may be it’s right to not start Varane yet. But I think Ole should have started Sancho on the right and Mason Greenwood as striker. It’s an away game and 3 points are valuable. Why not start your best players? His foundation is there already, if it’s not some abstract concept Ole is talking about! He’s ready to start!

A Performance to Forget

Solskjaer on Southampton’s goal: “It was 100% a foul but Fred shouldn’t have dangled his leg, he should have made a better block.”

Fred is not the only problem. United’s frustrating team play (if you call that team play) is the highlight of the match. Players looked so out of sync. There’s always this extra touch in our own half, despite high press from opposition. Players were too slow and looked too causal under growing pressure.

Outrageously, it kept happening! Loss of possession, poor passing and their friends! Complacency has cost a lot of points in the past. Today’s another example of that. The team appears to lose “drive” all of a sudden. There seems to be a lack of communication from Ole to change the game.

Losing control of the game due to opposition’s high press and aggressiveness when United want to play from the back is becoming a clear pattern day by day. It’s upto the manager to fix this problem.

The solution is to bring in a world class defensive midfielder. Fred and Matic are done for, Matic especially. The new defensive midfielder should be a starter alongside McTominay. Fred, like Martial, is a bench player at best.

Oh and by the way, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes both had a stinker. Overall, Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba were the only two decent performers.

Positives to take

Mason Greenwood scored the only goal for United. The youngster is producing beyond what you’d expect from 19 year old. He has already become a very important player for the club.

United’s unbeaten away run has extended to 27 games with the draw at St. Mary’s Stadium – making it a English Premier League record. Currently the record is shared with Arsenal’s 2003-04 away run. United’s next away game is against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Time to make the record only ours.

2 points dropped, 1 point gained. Hard to be an optimist with a performance like that but the fact is, it is better than a loss. Better than where United were last season after opening two games. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Looking forward to the next match. GGMU! X


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