It was a must-win match against the team at the foot of the Premier League table. Given Man United’s blockbuster FA Cup victory over Arsenal, the Old Trafford fans would have been justified to have high expectations for their team.
Sadly, despite being United’s easiest fixture of the season on paper, Ruben Amorim’s men struggled against minnows Southampton, who had the hosts against the ropes for much of the contest. It ultimately took some quick thinking from Amad Diallo, as well as a clever substitution by Amorim, to turn a humiliating loss into a last-ditch win over the 20th-placed team in the league.
As expected, the hosts dominated possession after kick-off; however, they started off slow, choosing to casually maintain possession as opposed to threatening the Southampton defence.
Three minutes in, Manuel Ugarte won a corner. Bruno Fernandes swung in a threatening cross to force a save from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Soon after, the underdogs began to press United heavily, forcing the home team to play out from the back. For a prolonged period, United struggled to get the ball out of their final third.
In the 15th minute, it was the underdogs who got the first shot of the match. Mateus Fernandes fired an attempt on goal that Andre Onana comfortably caught. Despite being a soft shot, it showed Southampton’s intention to come away with a result.
A minute later, Amad raced into the box, laying the ball off to Alejandro Garnacho in the centre. He passed to Fernandes, whose shot was deflected out for a corner. Amad’s cross was cleared out of play by Tyler Dibling.
On the cusp of 20 minutes, Rasmus Hojlund sprinted into the box, slotting a juicy through ball to Garnacho, who blasted his shot wide. It was an unforgivable error, given the clear goalscoring opportunity that lay before Garnacho. No wonder Hojlund kicked the post in frustration in the aftermath.
Garnacho made a dazzling run, dribbling past the Southampton defence and attempting two shots which were both blocked.
In the 27th minute, Dibling weaved past the United defence, breezing past Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligtforcing a last-ditch save from Onana. The Old Trafford crowd held their breath when Fernandes lined up the rebound, which Onana bravely saved as well. United came agonisingly close to falling behind against the underdogs.
Kamaldeen Sulemana produced a great solo display to dribble past De Ligt and Martinez, only to curl his shot wide of the far post. Yet again, Southampton came close to opening the scoring.
Just three minutes before the break, Southampton scored from a corner as Ugarte turned the ball into his own net. Just moments before, Amorim had been shaking his head in disapproval, almost as if he had predicted what was to come.
During one minute of stoppage time, Fernandes was booked for dissent as he called for a penalty due to an alleged foul on Amad.
Boos echoed around Old Trafford as the half-time whistle blew. It was a humiliating moment for United, who had fallen behind at home to the bottom team in the league. Clearly, a stern half-time team talk from Amorim was needed. United had to show more aggression on the attack and desire in order to find a way back into a game that should have been a straightforward victory without any hiccups.
As United emerged from the tunnel, it was evident that Amorim changed tactics. Antony came on for Kobbie Mainoo, meaning that Fernandes had been pushed into a central midfield role.
Barely a minute after the restart, Antony blasted a shot goalward that was deflected inches over the crossbar. Fernandes provided him with an opportune through ball just metres away from goal. Already, United looked rejuvenated.
On the opposite end of the field, Kyle Walker-Peters breezed into the box, only for Ugarte to deflect the ball out for a corner.
52 minutes in, Martinez was booked for a reckless tackle on the edge of the box.
Before the free-kick could be taken, Ugarte and Rasmus Hojlund were taken off for Toby Collyer and Joshua Zirkzee.
The free-kick was cleared out for a corner. Fortunately, this time, the cross was headed out of danger by De Ligt, meaning a repeat of the opening goal was avoided.
In the 57th minute, Sulemana launched another blistering sprint into the box, beating Yoro convincingly. Fortunately, his shot went wide of the far post, meaning the visitors did not double their lead.
A minute later, it was United’s turn to come agonisingly close to scoring. Garnacho played a ball to Antony, whose shot was caught by the keeper. Antony must have been frustrated with himself, given that the ball actually went past the keeper to give him a practically open-goal opportunity.
On the hour mark, Garnacho took a shot from outside the box that Ramsdale caught.
While United continued pressing into the visitors’ final third, they appeared lost and confused, unable to craft a threatening attacking opportunity that would catch their opponents off guard.
13 minutes from time, Garnacho attempted a shot from a tight angle that the keeper confidently saved. It was a clear sign of desperation from the Argentine, with opportunities being few and far between.
Moments later, Fernandes attempted an innovative lobbed shot that the keeper parried. The ball soared over the face of the goal before being cleared. United then won a free-kick, which was wasted by Amad, who kicked the ball out of touch.
A minute later, relief swept across Old Trafford as Amad redeemed himself. Zirkzee passed a through ball to Amad on the wing, who cut into the box and blasted the ball past the keeper to draw United level. Finally, the comeback was one with nine minutes of regular time left on the clock.
Before the restart, Amorim made his final two substitutions. Harry Maguire came on for Yoro, while Christian Eriksen replaced Noussair Mazraoui.
The substitution clearly helped, as a minute before time, Eriksen played a clever through ball to Amad, who fired his volley into the back of the net to hand United a lead at the death.
Yet again, Amorim’s substitutions made all the difference, completely changing United’s fortunes.
With two minutes left of the five minutes of allotted stoppage time, Amad sealed his hat trick. The winger enjoyed a give-and-go with Eriksen, running into the box and burying the ball into the back of the net after catching Ramsdale off guard.
It was an uncomfortable match for United overall, yet the final score was all that mattered as Old Trafford celebrated at the full-time whistle. Amorim will surely want to review his team selection and tactics, given the major contrast between his team’s first- and second-half performances.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Hojlund, Yoro, Amad, Garnacho, Ugarte, Mainoo
Subs: Antony, Collyer, Zirkzee, Maguire, Eriksen
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
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