Five issues Erik ten Hag acquired proper as United safe important victory at Southampton

Manchester United got the Premier League campaign restarted with a convincing 0-3 win against Southampton at St Mary’s.

United came into the fixture with the knowledge they had only lost one of their last 30 games against newly promoted sides. They were also unbeaten in the last 12 away fixtures against the Saints.

Expectedly midfielder Casemiro – who had a torrid time against Liverpool last time out – was left out of the starting side with Christian Eriksen filling the void. New man Manuel Ugarte was only deemed fit enough to start on the bench and appeared for the last 15 minutes of proceedings.

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Joshua Zirkzee was in from the start and had United’s first chance of the afternoon on 15 minutes from five yards out but could only scuff a prodded shot towards Southampton ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Diogo Dalot was embarrassed by Southampton youngster Tyler Dibbling but his goalkeeper was there to spare his blushes with a fine penalty save from Cameron Archer who was made to wait around 51 seconds before seeing his strike saved.

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Just minutes later, Bruno Fernandes lifted a ball towards the far post where De Ligt rose highest heading home for his first United goal to top off an impressive first-half showing.

Next came a flurry of chances for United which Marcus Rashford took full advantage of before half-time scoring his first Premier League goal since March to leave Ten Hag the happier of the managers with a 0-2 half-time lead.

United controlled the second half with Southampton finishing the game with 10 men after Jack Stephens was shown red for a poor tackle on Garnacho which enraged the United bench. Just before full-time Dalot set up Garnacho who finished with aplomb to round up the victory.

The victory sees the 20-time Premier League winners double their points tally to six from four games.

Next up for the Red Devils is a kind Carabao Cup tie with Barnsley on September 17 before they make the trip to Selhurst Park where they will face Crystal Palace next on Saturday 21 September at 5:30 pm.

Casemiro out of the firing line

The United boss took his midfielder out of the spotlight after his nightmare performance against Liverpool two weeks ago when the 32-year-old was at fault for two goals – he was replaced at half-time by youngster Toby Collyer. Even though Casemiro may have had some time to recover mentally from the happenings of that day it seemed a sensible decision to at least take him out of the starting team at St Mary’s. This time, he was replaced by the experienced Eriksen who had a solid game against the Saints rather than playing Collyer in a vital fixture. Eriksen had a hand in United’s opener passing to Fernandes who lifted the ball into the area befroe De Ligt headed past Ramsdale.

Matthijs de Ligt showed class

Straight from the off the Dutch defender looked focused and determined to put in a performance after a disappointing week away with Ronald Koeman’s national side. He looked a class above the opposition for much of the game with several key clearances and defensive contributions in the first half. At the other end of the pitch, he showed the aerial threat he possesses with a smart header after rising highest in the Saints’ box to the delight of Ten Hag. Southampton hardly had a sniff after their penalty which gives an indicator of their threat. De Ligt looked to be nursing a knock late on and was replaced by Casemiro for the final minutes. Although, De Ligt looked to be signalling it was cramp as he sat on the bench.

Persistence with Marcus Rashford

Rashford cut a glum figure against Liverpool but he was smiling on the south coast after he handed his side a two-goal lead just before half-time after Amad’s pass found its way to his feet, nothing seemed on, so Rashford quickly found half a yard of space before unleashing a powerful curling strike through an array of bodies which gave Ramsdale no chance. His overall performance was a lot more positive than previous weeks, something England and United fans will be hoping he can build on going forward

Amad looked confident

Ten Hag replaced usual starting right winger Alejandro Garnacho with Amad which may have raised a few eyebrows but it proved a masterstroke as the United man drove at defenders at will using his pace and trickery to open up the defence on several occasions. Allowing him to play on the right even though he is left-footed gave the Saints all sorts of problems for much of the game. Similar to Rashford, United fans will be hoping he can perform that way more consistently in weeks to come. He was replaced by Garnacho on 73 minutes and was applauded by United’s travelling fans.

Lisandro Martinez read the game

Although the story of the day was De Ligt’s display his defensive partner Lisandro Martinez also put in a solid performance with his reading of the game standing out in United’s victory. This could be the start formidable partnership at the heart of the United defence although it must be said the level of opposition should be considered. The Saints tended to try and play through the middle of the pitch rather than the wings meaning the game was mostly played directly in front of the pair allowing them to position themselves compactly rather than being stretched. However, Martinez looked to be nursing a knock as he was subbed late on.