Manchester United was held by Southampton at St.Mary’s and it was a dull match to watch. United had bright chances in the first 15 minutes but they failed to capitalize. Southampton eventually scored the first goal through a huge Che Adams shot that deflected off Fred and went past De Gea.
Manchester United was unable to score in the first half but had their response in the second half. Mason Greenwood scored the equalizer for Manchester United after some clever footwork from Paul Pogba.
The match eventually dried out in the final minutes and both the teams were simply unable to create chances.
Let’s see how our players fared throughout the match:
David De Gea: 7.5
Was clearly unlucky for the first goal. He was positioned well and made a couple of good saves. The best one came in the 75th minute where he saved a powerful shot from Adam Armstrong. Could have got a clean sheet.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 6
The powerful right-back didn’t produce much while going ahead. He was good while defending deep and nullified the threat of Moussa Djenepo on the wings. Clearly need to show more attacking intent.
Harry Maguire: 5
Should have blocked Che Adams shot but he failed to do so. He was quite solid in the second half but still made some careless fouls.
Victor Lindelof: 5.5
Was quite good while defending on the ground but was poor aerially. Missed a couple of chances to score from set-pieces. Didn’t put the effort to stop Che Adams from taking the shot. He still commanded the defense well in the second half.
Luke Shaw: 7.5
He was the best defender of the match. Played really well and placed accurate crosses. Although his cross was not fruitful in some situations he still provided pace and creativity through the wings. Was very calm and composed while defending in one on one situations.
Nemanja Matic: 4.5
His presence was questionable as he failed to dominate the midfield. Lacked the pace while counter-attacking and looked like a lowly figure in front of Southampton’s James Ward Prowse and Oriel Romeu. He needs to be benched.
Fred: 4
He was the culprit behind our first goal. The deflection was huge as he didn’t clock Che Adam’s shot. Was unable to provide a dominant performance. Southampton attackers repeatedly exposed his poor decision-making and weak defending.
Paul Pogba: 8
The highest rating goes for him as he provided the first goal due to his clever passing skills. He was the biggest hope for Manchester United and it looked like he will work his magic. Received a yellow card due to his reckless foul.
Bruno Fernandes: 6
Failed to show the magic that he had displayed against Leeds. Did contribute to the attack and he provided the pass to Paul Pogba that resulted in an assist for Mason Greenwood. He had little impact in the closing stages as well.
Mason Greenwood: 7.5
Mason Greenwood scored the lone goal for Manchester United as his shot went through McCarthy’s legs and into the back of the net. He showed clever positioning skills and was a constant threat at the wings.
But he should be played as a striker to increase his capability.
Anthony Martial: 4
Very poor in the first half and completely disappeared in the second half. Looked lost and didn’t contributed much to the attack. Needs some change in this role.
