Manchester United notched up their second win of the Season in a similar shaky fashion that had given them their first win against Fulham a week ago. The battle between the Saints and Red Devils was supposed to be a “walk through the park” game for United but they only managed a thrilling yet scrappy Last minute win thanks to the magnificent Hat-Trick by Robin Van Persie. United were largely disappointing for must part of the Afternoon in St. Mary’s Stadium and the host took full advantage of it. The win sees united rise up to 5th spot in the league sandwiched between arch rivals Manchester City and blues of Merseyside Everton.
The first surprise of the game came when the starting lineup was announced and Rio Ferdinand was included. That would now 1000th league game for Sir Alex and 1000th time that he has surprised everybody with his starting lineup. Nani was back in the Squad but only to start from the bench along with the likes of Scholes and Chicha. The Biggest surprise however was the dropping of David De Gea and starting Lindegaard. Was this the result of De Gea’s Error Leading to own goal in last game? Maybe yes. With return of Ferdinand however United looked safer at the back and of course that would also mean Carrick would be playing the Midfield where he belongs. United Started the game with a 4-4-1-1 formation. Kagawa was in the hole behind Van Persie whereas Welbeck was played wide on the Left flank. The center midfield was given to Carrick and Cleverley which was prime factor for United’s poor performance for majority of the game.
The Red Devils began the game positively and were also awarded an early corner for their persistent attacking in the Southampton half. Initials moments in the match would only suggest one thing - Southampton would have a long day in the field. This however came untrue once Southampton won the possession back. The heart of Southampton’s play was to find their man Paul Lambert and possibly in the air and then the big striker would do his magic. The likes of Scheneiderlin, Lallana, Clyne and Puncheon were all in there and knew exactly what was needed to be done by them. On the Contrary United despite having a good start started falling back and the midfield once again looked very unbalanced against high pressing play of Southampton. Carrick and Cleverley rarely were able to hold on to the ball and hence dictating the play was far beyond reach. At the Stroke of 16 minutes Southampton broke the deadlock with the help of Lambert’s sublime header. Manchester United for the third time in three games now were a goal down. A reply was what needed from the Devils and it came on the 23rd minute when Valencia picked out a perfect cross to Robin Van Persie on the far side of the post and he slammed it back into the net. Despite the equalizer United still looked to be on the back foot and Lambert was intelligently still causing a lot of trouble to the defense. Kagawa was almost invisible in the entire half and mainly because Cleverley and Carrick were unable to find him. There was no more drama however and first half came to halt with both teams on level and united looking unable to cope with the high pressing play of the Saints.
The second half started in similar manner as the First, a very uncomfortable Welbeck on the left, invisible Kagawa in the hole and an unstable midfield. There was no sign of any creativity in the middle for Devils and the occasional Cross from Valencia was also becoming increasingly predictive. On the Whole united look very much out of sync and this perhaps was bigger problem than the opponents themselves. Adkin’s men took full advantage of this and as a result Southampton went up on United once again thanks to another header this time from Scheneiderlin. With 44 minutes of play remaining and being 2 -1 down Sir Alex had no choice but give up on the current formation. Paul Scholes and Nani were brought in for Cleverley and Kagawa and United shifted back to 4-4-2. Scholes began working his magic, not only winning the ball back but delivering it deep into Southampton half. United who looked a little more creative after the changes were awarded a penalty when Robin Van Persie was brought down in the box by Jose Hooieveld. It came to nothing however as Van Persie put the penalty shot straight to the keeper. Twenty minutes was all that remained for United to wake up or face a shock defeat. Chicha was next to come in and in place of an unimpressive Welbeck, the desperation in the united camp was now very visible. The game continued to progressively open up and chances were being created on both ends. One such chance came in 87 min for United and they took it with both hands or rather with both legs. Nani delivered a cross right into the Center finding Rio Ferdinand, Rio headed the ball which rebounded of the post only to be put back in by Robin Van Persie. A few minutes later in the injury time united were awarded another corner. Nani once again took it and this time found Robin Van Persie who headed in beautifully to complete his first Hat-Trick for Manchester United. The turnaround was complete and in the most thrilling way possible. Despite all their brave effort Southampton were succumbed to a defeat thanks to one man, that one man who scores when he wants.
Sir Alex 1000th league game as manager of the Red Devils ended up being a thriller rather than being a walk in the park. Lot of questions still needs addressing though and Sir Alex would very well know that they wouldn’t be lucky like this every time.
Full Time: Southampton 2 (Lambert 16’, Scheneiderlin 56’) – Manchester United 3 (Robin Van Persie 23’, 87’, 90+2’)
Lineups:
Southampton – K. Davis, Fox, Hooiveld, Rocha Fonte, Clyne, Lallana (Rodriguez), Puncheon (Mayuka), Ward-Prowse, Scheneiderlin, S. Davis, Lambert (Prado)
Subs not used – Gazzaniga, Richardson, Seaborne,Lee.
Manchester United – Lindegaard, Rafael, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley (Scholes), Welbeck (Chicha), Van Persie, Kagawa (Nani)
Subs not used – De Gea, Giggs, Powell, Evans.
Top Performers:
Southampton – Lambert 8.5/10, Scheneiderlin 8/10, Lallana 7/10
Manchester United – Robin Van Persie 9/10, Scholes 7.5/10, Valencia 6/10
Next Game: Wigan Athletic (H) – Sept 15th.
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