Report and free match highlights from the Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester United at St Mary's on Saturday as goals from Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho helped Erik ten Hag's side to avoid a third straight league defeat
Saturday 14 September 2024 19:37, UK
Manchester United produced a professional performance to beat struggling Southampton 3-0 and once again ease the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
Victory on the south coast meant United avoided a run of three straight Premier League defeats for the first time since 2015.
Russell Martin's Saints fearlessly took the game to United - after three straight losses of their own - and came close to the opener inside 10 minutes when academy product Tyler Dibling - on his full Premier League - embarked on a mazy solo run and forced Andre Onana into a sprawling save.
They had the chance to capitalise on a positive start just after the half-hour when Dibling was chopped down in the box and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot, but Cameron Archer's weakly-struck penalty was saved by Onana. That miss turned the game.
Having survived what had been, at times, intense spells of pressure, United did take the lead after 35 minutes, though, when Matthijs de Ligt headed in Bruno Fernandes' corner after it had passed over Jack Stephens' head unchallenged.
St Mary's was stunned into silence when Marcus Rashford picked up a ball on the edge of the area and curled a low shot past Aaron Ramsdale, who probably should have done better, within six minutes.
Save for a couple of Ramsdale saves, the remainder of the game was pedestrian. There was one late flashpoint, when Stephens needlessly chopped down Alejandro Garnacho on the touchline and received a red card as a result, but it served to do nothing more than compound Southampton's misery.
Until the 96th minute, that was. Casemiro's clever pass split open the Saints defence to find Diogo Dalot surging into the box and, from his perfect pull back, the unmarked Garnacho smashed home from six yards out.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag:
"That [the penalty save] was the turning point in the game. We got momentum and then you see how small the margins are.
"Against Brighton, we scored a goal and it was crazy it was disallowed, and today, we conceded a penalty, Andre [Onana] caught it and, a couple of minutes after, we scored a goal. From that moment on, it was our game.
"You have to find a foothold in every game, especially away from home. That was a good learning for this team in how to do this.
"You can see in the games, from the Community Shield on, that this team is growing, but it still needs time.
"We have to build this team and I'm sure we will get there, but it will be hard work. But you can see from game-to-game, there will be improvements.
"I'm very pleased and happy for him [De Ligt]. I know he has some very good attributes as a leader, but he's also very good at finishing set-plays and that is one of the reasons we bought him."
Southampton manager Russell Martin:
"I don't think we just started really well, I think we played really well for 30-odd minutes. We looked the team most likely to score.
"I loved the performance, the aggression, the intensity in it; some of the football we played was great.
"We didn't make the most of it, then we missed a penalty and it completely changed the energy of the whole game, the whole stadium, which is understandable.
"We didn't respond well enough to that and in that moment, United took some control, capitalised on that and we conceded two terrible goals from set-plays. It's the only thing I'm really angry about today. The lads are trying so hard and giving everything they've got.
"We're four games in and the lads have felt so many moments in the first four games where they should really feel like they can be impacting the league in a really good way and not just survive and fight every single week to show what they can do.
"I said to them that I played in the Premier League for five seasons and I didn't have any sustained moments of what they've had already in four games, so if that doesn't give them belief we will be fighting.
"They've got to keep believing, keep being brave, keep learning through the pain and keep reinforcing the good stuff. I'm much happier with the level of performance this season than I was at this stage last season. We just need to stick with it."
Sky Sports' Dan Long at St Mary's:
It's not been an enjoyable return to the Premier League for Southampton so far, that we know. Four defeats from four looks bad on paper, though performances haven't quite been as bad as that suggests.
But, for the time being, let's leave the analysis and picking apart of performances and focus on arguably the high point of Saints' season so far: Tyler Dibling.
The 18-year-old academy product made one league appearance last season, but has been part of Russell Martin's plans from the off this term. His manager praised his bright cameo in the defeat to Nottingham Forest last month and rewarded him with his first Premier League start on Saturday.
It didn't take long for Dibling - who made his England U19 debut only seven days earlier - to make an impression. Inside 10 minutes, he darted down the right, cut inside and was only denied by a sprawling save from Andre Onana. Another enterprising run drew a foul from Diogo Dalot that resulted in a penalty.
When he was one of four Saints withdrawn just after the hour, the home fans booed. Martin later confirmed he was suffering with cramp and would not have taken him off had he not had to.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Martin said: "He's an outstanding footballer; we just don't want to put too much pressure on him too early. He's going to be a really top player if he keeps listening, keeps working."
If it wasn't already clear, Dibling is certainly someone to keep an eye on this season - not just for his talent, but for the fact he could have a big impact on the direction in which Southampton's season goes.
