Manchester United is on Cloud “9” as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men hammer the Saints 9-0 in the Premier League meeting in Manchester.
2nd February 2021 is a day that Southampton fans will want to forget at Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side was battered by 9 goals for the 2nd consecutive season as they were annihilated by the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils kicked off the game sitting in second place, 3 points off leaders and neighbours – Manchester City, at the top of the Premier League table. United was coming into the game having lost to the bottom of the table side, Sheffield United followed by a bland 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had to put things right and it seemed like the perfect day to do so to secure their spot for 2nd place at the moment against Southampton as a young and upcoming Swiss star – Alex Jankewitz was sent off for a high studs-up challenge on Scott McTominay inside 90 seconds of the match!
Southampton had to practically play the entire game with 10 men and United pounced on the 1-man advantage. Manchester United have become very patient in attack, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce and more often than not, do get the goal they need and it was no different against the Saints.
It took 16 minutes after Jankewitz’s red card for United to find the breakthrough with left-back Luke Shaw putting a gem of a cross for right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to knock home as striker Danny Ings failed to track the right-back’s run fast enough.
Things started getting ugly soon after for the Saints. Marcus Rashford made it 2-0 after some terrific teamplay and a delightful cross by youngster Mason Greenwood. This goal took Rashford’s goalscoring record to 1 ahead of the King, Eric Cantona.
United were nonstop and relentless in their pursuit for goals as Marcus Rashford’s low cross was turned in, unfortunately by Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek in the 34th minute for an own goal. It was one of the centre-back’s worst days in his football career, we’re sure.
Edinson Cavani made it 4-0, 5 minutes later as Luke Shaw put in another perfect cross from the left-hand side as the Uruguayan headed home to cap off the first half. Manchester United should have had a penalty inside another 5 minutes as Ramsay brought down Edinson Cavani on the line of the penalty box but VAR ruled it to be outside.
(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
David de Gea was pretty much a spectator for most of the game but was tested by a James Ward-Prowse freekick that the Spaniard was up to as he tipped it over the bar. There was not much more for Southampton in that first half and there were worrying signs going into the break.
The Saints came out strong even though they were one man down as Che Adams found the back of de Gea’s net from a quick free-kick by captain Ward-Prowse. However, a hugely debatable offside call by the VAR ruled out the goal for the away side to keep the score at 4-0 after 52 minutes.
The Red Devils then became ruthless. Anthony Martial scored a brilliant goal, his first of two, after controlling Bruno Fernandes’ lob pass and then picking the top netting of goalkeeper Alex McCarthy’s goal in the 69th minute. Less than 2 minutes later, Scott McTominay made it 6 as his shot from over 25 yards out found its way through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.
United got a penalty in the 87th minute when Martial was brought down by Bednarek who was sent off harshly after the referee, Mike Dean reviewed the incident on the VAR screen.
De Gea kept a rare clean sheet (express.co.uk)
Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from the spot to make it 7-0 for the home team. Anthony Martial slotted home his 2nd from a beautiful cross by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the 90th minute and Daniel James made it 9 with a tidy flick past McCarthy after Bruno Fernandes’ lovely headed assist.
The 9-0 win took Manchester United equal on points with Manchester City who has two games in hand but Pep Guardiola’s side face Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool this weekend. A win for the Merseysiders would take them to within 1 of both Manchester teams but City will still have a game in hand.
Southampton had suffered a 9-0 loss last season against Leicester City at St. Mary’s but bounced back. Ralph Hasenhüttl will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes once again as the Saints have had a terrible run over the last 6 weeks or so.
Here is the top of 3 of the Premier League table so far.
This is the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson that Manchester United has won by a margin of 9 goals.
The last time the Red Devils did this, the current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a player for the club when they beat Ipswich Town 9-0. Solskjaer becomes only the 2nd manager in Premier League history to have won by 9 goals at home. It was a truly spectacular performance by Manchester United even though the Saints were down to 10 men for 85 minutes and then down to 9 for the remainder of the time.
Manchester United fans will be hoping that their team can kick on and realistically make a title push.
