MANCHESTER UNITED were
beaten for the first time in 11 games as Southampton's smash and grab
raid saw them leapfrog the Reds into third place in the Premier
League.
In a game of few chances,
United dominated the match but substitute Dusan Tadic scored the only
goal when he tapped home from close range in the 70th
minute.
The Reds welcomed Phil
Jones and Daley Blind back into the starting XI and Angel Di Maria
was restored to the line-up in an unfamiliar centre forward position
but it was Southampton who could have taken a first minute lead.
Nathaniel Clyne fired
narrowly wide from the edge of the area after only 48 seconds before
Di Maria went close for United and Jose Fonte blocked a Robin Van
Persie effort.
The visitors had come to
frustrate United, defend in numbers and play for a draw and to their
credit they executed this game plan superbly.
What turned out to be the
decisive moment came in the 70th
minute when Southampton took the lead against the run of play out of
nothing.
At the end of a rare breakaway, Grazziano Pelle's shot struck the post and rebounded to Tadic who slotted in.
At the end of a rare breakaway, Grazziano Pelle's shot struck the post and rebounded to Tadic who slotted in.
United took off former
Saints full-back Luke Shaw and switched Daley Blind to the left, and
the Dutchman's teasing deliveries presented the Reds with two good
chances to level.
First, he whipped in a
dangerous cross which Fraser Forster failed to deal with and the ball
dropped to Juan Mata who lashed his shot inches wide from a tight
angle.
The two combined again
minutes later when Blind squared for Mata who could only lift the
ball over the bar from six yards out as the home side's frustration
grew.
Despite five minutes of
added time and late pressure from the Reds, the Saints held on to go
above United and record their first win at Old Trafford for 27 years.
United Faithful Man of the
Match: Luke Shaw
Overall team performance: 6.5/10
Overall team performance: 6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment