After failing to win away in the Premier League and losing against Southampton, who are at the bottom of the table, Manchester United panicked in an amateurish manner, and their faces turned red with embarrassment as they experienced a turnaround that will be remembered for a long time. I was holding it.
But in stoppage time Amad Diallo came on with a hat-trick of goals – into an open goal – his second goal in full time – with a superb finish off Christian Eriksen’s chipped ball – and the winger’s equalizer a few minutes earlier. Followed by: Refusal to lose everything depends on the outcome. Ruben Amorim says he will learn more about his players tonight than he did in Sunday’s FA Cup penalty shootout win over Arsenal or the 2-2 draw with Liverpool last time out. Admittedly, it was unrealistic and worrying, as it was after the show.
However, by the time the final whistle blew, United’s unbeaten run against Southampton had stretched to 17 games. This was due to the noisiness of the late show, who did not have to play against Ivan Djuric’s team, who arrived with one point from four games. charging.
This was a match that Amorim could not afford to lose. He was unable to get the win, although it was United’s first victory in regulation time since their 2-1 derby win against Manchester City on December 15.
Amorim said he wanted United to control the ball and occupy their opponents’ final third far more than they did themselves. Here he wants to reverse every pattern since Sir Alex Ferguson, with Southampton dominating the ball and the first half.
In the 11th minute, Kamaldeen Sulemana swooped in from the left and fired a shot past Leny Yoro, but André Onana dived low to save. The Saints continued to keep the ball. Djuric’s team fared as if it were a top-10 unit, rather than a team that arrived with a -32 goal difference.
The ball was stroked from Taylor Harwood-Bellis to Joe Aribo, Leslie Ugochukwu, James Bree, Tyler Dibling, Bree, then Matheus Fernandes drove through to test Onana again.
Amorim stood on the sidelines in despair. His team once again made a living off scraps, looking to inflict damage on Southampton with a counterpunch. This is what they should have scored. Rasmus Høylund broke down the left flank, moved into the visitor’s area and teed up Alejandro Garnacho, but his shot went wide. It’s his first start in the league since December 7th, and it’s a golden start for a player who could leave this month.
Moments later, Ugochukwu screamed for a handball inside the area, but John Brooks waved him off and Saints defended a corner that the referee awarded instead.
While Amorim craves control, these were strange moments. The team in yellow did this, and only Onana’s double save prevented Djuric’s side from taking the lead.
United once again had a bye as Dibling darted out along the inside channel on the right and fired home. United’s number one dropped down to make a save, then leapt up to repel Fernandes’ pursuit.
More: Yoro was slipped past by Slemana again, the forward broke through and crossed the edge of the area and missed the shot, only for Djuric to go on a comical rampage on the touchline.
Skip past newsletter promotions
Subscribe to Football Daily
Start your night off with The Guardian’s take on the world of football
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may include information about charities, online advertising, and content sponsored by external parties. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
After newsletter promotion
Manuel Ugarte’s own goal gave Southampton the lead in the first half. Photo: Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images
Numerous ‘o’s’ from the home supporters signaled United’s latest mistake, and silence followed when Southampton scored. Fernandes swung a corner from the left, Dibling flicked on and the ball bounced off Manuel Ugarte, who was as unlucky as the flopping, helpless Onana.
“We’re winning away and you’re a bastard,” sang the jubilant away section. At the half-time whistle, United were heckled and looked to be 2-0 up, but Onana saved an excellent Dibling long-range shot.
Koby Mainu was the fall guy on the break and was replaced by Anthony. Fernandes had an almost instant chance when he ran into Ugarte’s path on the left and flicked the ball to the Brazilian, but his shot went off course.
Then there was further confusion in United’s last line. Slemana bullied Diallo and passed to Kyle Walker-Peters, who slipped in for a corner. Moments later, Slemana again brushed past Yoro and into United’s area, his shot hitting the back of Matthijs de Ligt’s shoulder and the handball not being the correct ruling on Brook’s part.
Already fed up, Amorim dropped Hojlund and Ugarte and replaced them with Joshua Zirkzee and Toby Collier. This happened in the 53rd minute and showed the head coach was in desperate mode. His team was poor to say the least. There was no goal in sight when Garnacho’s sprint to the left led to a weighted pass to Anthony, but instead he kicked an unconscious backpass to Aaron Ramsdale, a virtual spectator in Southampton’s goal. , Aaron Ramsdale gathered in gratitude.
How much Amorim wished his team had the composure of Southampton. Two other examples of restlessness were when Zirkzee wandered around the Saints’ goal and Garnacho took him straight down at Ramsdale.
This was before Diallo’s intervention and he is currently the only United footballer to do so.