A moment of quality from Bruno Fernandes allowed Manchester United to edge a scrappy clash with Southampton courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline, that propels Erik ten Hag’s side to sixth place ahead of the weekend’s remaining kick-offs.
In a low-quality affair, Bruno Fernandes placed what proved to be the winner into the bottom corner after 56 minutes, and the Red Devils survived a late barrage of pressure to come away with a valuable three points from St Mary’s Stadium.
Outstanding finish! 🎯
Bruno Fernandes finds the back of the Southampton net with a first-time finish ✅ pic.twitter.com/P9oCDRLaOA
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 27, 2022
It was a gritty and resolute performance from the Red Devils, two words that haven’t been associated with the club for some time, and even as they rode their luck to record back-to-back wins, there were shoots of progress under the new manager, even if they were largely second best.
📰 Table Of Contents
- 1 Southampton FC
- 1.1 Gavin Bazunu – 7
- 1.2 Kyle Walker-Peters – 5
- 1.3 Armel Bella-Kotchap – 8
- 1.4 Mohamed Salisu – 7
- 1.5 Moussa Djenepo – 6
- 1.6 James Ward-Prowse – 6
- 1.7 Romeo Lavia – 6
- 1.8 Joe Aribo – 7
- 1.9 Mohamed Elyounoussi – 5
- 1.10 Adam Armstrong – 6
- 1.11 Che Adams – 5
- 1.12 Substitutes:
- 1.13 Sekou Mara – 5
- 1.14 Stuart Armstrong – 5
- 1.15 Lyanco- N/A
- 1.16 Romain Perraud – N/A
- 2 Manchester United
- 2.1 David De Gea – 6
- 2.2 Diogo Dalot – 6
- 2.3 Raphael Varane – 6
- 2.4 Lisandro Martinez – 7
- 2.5 Tyrell Malacia – 6
- 2.6 Scott McTominay – 5
- 2.7 Christian Eriksen – 6
- 2.8 Jadon Sancho – 5
- 2.9 Bruno Fernandes – 6
- 2.10 Anthony Elanga -5
- 2.11 Marcus Rashford – 4
- 2.12 Substitutes:
- 2.13 Cristiano Ronaldo – 5
- 2.14 Casemiro – N/A
- 2.15 Fred – N/A
- 3 Stats and Fan reaction
Southampton FC
Gavin Bazunu – 7
Made one excellent save in the first half, but could do nothing about Bruno Fernandes’ goal.
Kyle Walker-Peters – 5
A quiet day for Walker-Peters, who struggled to make any impression down the Southampton right-hand side despite the Saints opting to overload that flank.
Armel Bella-Kotchap – 8
Showed excellent pace and strength to keep the Manchester United front-line quiet, and looks to be a real talent for the future in the heart of the Saints defence.
Mohamed Salisu – 7
Moussa Djenepo – 6
A good performance in an unnatural position for Djenepo, but his good work was undone when he was caught out by Dalot’s overlap for the Manchester United goal.
James Ward-Prowse – 6
Could not make his quality count and his set pieces lacked their usual spectacular nature.
Romeo Lavia – 6
Didn’t look at all out of place against United’s midfielders, and is sure to have a bright future.
Joe Aribo – 7
Was the best of Southampton’s midfielders and the former Rangers man looks a real coup for the south-coast side.
Mohamed Elyounoussi – 5
Had a quiet afternoon for the Saints and was hooked on the hour in the game’s first change.
Adam Armstrong – 6
Was a threat for much of the game, but lacked the cutting edge needed to get his team ahead in the game.
Che Adams – 5
Spurned a good chance in the first half, but never looked too much of a threat despite pretty play outside the penalty area.
Substitutes:
Sekou Mara – 5
Came up with an audacious overhead kick but did nothing to change the outcome
Stuart Armstrong – 5
Made no headway despite Southampton dominating the ball.
Lyanco- N/A
Was only on the pitch for the final couple of minutes
Romain Perraud – N/A
Was only on the pitch for the final couple of minutes
Manchester United
David De Gea – 6
Made a good save but still looks a liability with his feet in Erik ten Hag’s new system.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Had a tough afternoon defensively, but found a great pass to tee up Bruno Fernandes for the opening goal. More exciting going forwards than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Raphael Varane – 6
Looked comfortable on the south coast against a pretty toothless Saints attack.
Lisandro Martinez – 7
Scrutinised for his aerial ability, Lisandro Martinez turned in another strong performance and
Tyrell Malacia – 6
Not as impressive as he was against Liverpool, but still did very well 1 vs 1. Will likely keep his place ahead of Luke Shaw.
Scott McTominay – 5
Strong in the air from set pieces but looked a fish out of water in open play. Lucky to get away with not conceding a penalty.
Christian Eriksen – 6
A rare piece of quality in the Manchester United midfield, the Dane
Jadon Sancho – 5
Quick feet but little end product, Sancho looks more expressive under Erik ten Hag but it hasn’t quite clicked yet.
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Was a passenger for the first half, but came up with a glorious finish just before the hour mark to put his side 1-0 up.
Anthony Elanga -5
Made one good second-half run that forced a good tackle, but was otherwise quiet.
Marcus Rashford – 4
Hardly touched the ball (21 times to be precise) and was pushed out wide when Ronaldo came on. A day to forget.
Substitutes:
Cristiano Ronaldo – 5
Made one run in behind but looked every bit his 37 years-old as Manchester United’s press waned upon his appearance.
Casemiro – N/A
Was only on the pitch for the final 10 minutes but was tenacious in defending.
Fred – N/A
Was a stoppage-time substitute.
Stats and Fan reaction
Lisandro Martinez won 5 out of 5 aerial duels against Southampton today.
More than any other player on the pitch.
Not tall enough for the Premier League? 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/R43aIwivE0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 27, 2022
Life without Harry Maguire pic.twitter.com/dza6PkLvG5
— Viran🇲🇾 (@MadnessFc4) August 27, 2022
Bruno Fernandes. Not a midfielder. Not a number 10. A 2nd striker. Use him like that with low build-up responsibility & you will reap the rewards of his end-product.
— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) August 27, 2022
Ronaldo justified why he’s not ready to start games yet with his cameo today.
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) August 27, 2022
