Manchester United’s struggles in the Premier League continued on Saturday evening as they came from behind to draw 2-2 with relegation-threatened Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Saints enjoyed a dream start following their disappointing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Leicester City mid-week. Stuart Armstrong was in the right place in the 13th minute to put Mark Hughes’ men in charge, with Cedric doubling the lead with a brilliant free kick.
Romelu Lukaku reduced the deficit with an excellent goal in the 33rd minute, before Ander Herrerra hauled the visitors level only minutes later with an instinctive, flicked finish.
Early strikes from Armstrong, Lemina put Saints in control
The first real chance of the game came the way of Mourinho’s troops as a mistake from Alex McCarthy gave Romelu Lukaku an opportunity. However, the Southampton stopper redeemed himself to deny the Belgian forward.
Armstrong would show him how it was done only minutes later as he was fed by Michael Obafemi to fire low into the far corner for his third goal in as many games.
Things then got dramatically worse for the Red Devils as Cedric doubled the lead with a sumptuous free-kick. Marcus Rashford tripped Mario Lemina on the edge of the area, with the Portuguese defender stepping up to the ball and crashing it into the top corner away from the grasp of De Gea.
Lukaku gets United a foothold
The two-goal advantage did not last for too long as Lukaku reduced the arrears with his first goal in 12 games. The Belgian was picked out by a clever reverse ball from Rashford as he sprinted into the box and slammed the ball high into the net.
Within an instant, Manchester United were level as Herrera turned the ball home. Rashford once again was at the forefront as his bustling run saw him reach the byline and pull the ball back to his Spanish teammate. Only yards from goal, Herrera flicked the ball behind him to make sure it founds its way beyond McCarthy.
Both teams battle to a point
Both teams were pushing for a winning goal late own and Redmond was almost the man to get it as his powerful effort from distance had to be tipped over by De Gea. From the resultant corner, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg stooped low with a header that just drifted wide.
Neither side were quite able to create a golden opportunity to win the game and each went away from St Mary’s with a point.
Final Thoughts
It looked ominous once Manchester United fell two goals behind. Mourinho’s troops started horrifically at St Mary’s, with Hughes’ men particularly catching the eye. However, the Red Devils’ character has to be praised for coming from behind.
Having said that, Mourinho will be extremely frustrated that they have drawn yet another game that leaves them 7th ahead of Wednesday’s match with Arsenal. Meanwhile, the Saints stay in the relegation zone despite the point.
Match Report
Southampton: McCarthy (6); Stephens (6), Vestergaard (5), Yoshida (5); Valery (6), Hojbjerg (6), Lemina (7) (Davis (N/A), 90+2′), Soares (7); Redmond (7), Obafemi (7) (Gabbiadini (5), 64′), Armstrong (7).
Manchester United: De Gea (7); Shaw (6) (Dalot (6), 72′), Matic (6), Jones (6), McTominay (5), Young (6); Pogba (6), Herrera (7), Fellaini (6); Rashford (7) (Martial (N/A), 77′), Lukaku (7) (Lingard (N/A), 86′).
Goals: Armstrong (13′), Cedric (20′), Lukaku (33′), Herrera (39′)
Referee: Kevin Friend
Yellow Cards: Rashford (18′), Hojbjerg (35′), Fellaini (35′), Pogba (53′), Lemina (54′), Vestergaard (59′), Young (90+3′), Armstrong (90+5′)
Red Cards: N/A
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