Southampton 2-2 Manchester United: Jose Mourinho's side fight back for draw

Manchester United fought back from two goals down to secure a point but their Premier League struggles continued with a 2-2 draw at Southampton.

All the goals came in the first half at St Mary's and it was Southampton who raced into an early two-goal lead thanks to Stuart Armstrong's third goal in two games (13) and a stunning free-kick from Cedric Soares (20).

United, who started with Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic in a back three alongside Phil Jones, put a lacklustre opening behind them with two goals in six minutes as Romelu Lukaku (33) and Ander Herrera (39) brought Jose Mourinho's side level, but they could not find a winner in what was a poor second half.

Southampton held on for what could prove to be a valuable point to move up to 18th in the league and ease the pressure on manager Mark Hughes, while a point takes United - who are without a win in three Premier League games for the first time since December 2017 - up to seventh.

Hughes urged his side to be positive against United ahead of kick-off and his players took his advice on board as Armstrong drilled a powerful effort past David de Gea and into the far corner after being played in by Michael Obafemi.

The hosts extended their advantage in the 20th minute, following Marcus Rashford's foul on Mario Lemina, Cedric striking an inch-perfect free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.

Southampton's celebrations were dampened slightly when Lukaku raced onto Rashford's through ball before confidently thumping the ball into the top corner for his first goal for the club since September 15.

Six minutes later and United were back on level terms. Rashford did well to get to the byline before pulling the ball back for Herrera, whose flick found its way past Alex McCarthy at the near post.

The momentum had swung back in United's favour after Mourinho's men hauled themselves back into the game, but after the interval they failed to kick on and up the tempo again.

Marouane Fellaini headed wide after meeting Ashley Young's free-kick and Luke Shaw shot wide from the edge of the box but the visitors struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities to score a winner.

Mourinho threw on Anthony Martial in search of a third in the 77th minute but, with time running out, Southampton looked to be finishing the game the stronger of the two sides.

Armstrong nodded just wide from Redmond's drilled corner, while De Gea had to be alert to keep out long-range efforts from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Redmond after Paul Pogba had inexplicably passed the ball straight to the hosts.

Opta stats

Southampton have won just one of their last 15 Premier League matches (D6 L8), winning only against Crystal Palace in September.

Man Utd are without a win in three Premier League games for the first time since December 2017 (D2 L1) - the third game in both runs came against Southampton.

Southampton remain the only team in the Premier League yet to win a home game this season (D5 L2).

Mark Hughes has won just three of his last 25 Premier League games as a manager in the competition (W3 D9 L13).

Cedric Soares is the seventh player to score a direct free-kick for Southampton in the Premier League and first since James Ward-Prowse vs West Brom in February 2018.

Romelu Lukaku's strike vs Southampton has ended a run of 12 games and 981 minutes without a goal for Manchester United in all competitions since netting against Watford in September.

No player has scored more goals against Southampton in the top-flight at St. Mary's than Man Utd's Romelu Lukaku (5 - level with Olivier Giroud and Robin van Persie).

Marcus Rashford has provided two assists in a single game in all competitions for Man Utd for just the second time in his career (also vs Crystal Palace in September 2017).

Man of the Match - Nathan Redmond

Redmond put in an excellent shift for Southampton and his pace kept United honest.

He played a part in Southampton's opener, dribbling through a number of challenges before Obafemi's pass released Armstrong.

And he nearly won it for his side late on, pouncing on Pogba's error in midfield before forcing De Gea into action with a powerful strike from distance.

What's next?

Southampton are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Wembley to face Tottenham in the Premier League (8pm).

Manchester United are also back in Premier League action on Wednesday and face a tough test against Arsenal at Old Trafford (8pm).

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