Manchester United 1-1 Southampton: Match Analysis
“Top four side held to mid-table opposition” seems like a headline that laments United’s inability to beat the Saints but the fact of the matter is there was an air of role reversal today as the Saints left Old Trafford with a point after a one-all draw.
Key Stats
Although the possession stat was even, perhaps the most intriguing statistic is the attempts stat. Southampton had more attempts than Man United, the Saints even had more attempts on target than the Champions. This is a worrying statistic for Man United, as it shows teams are coming to Old Trafford and are able to severely question Man United.
Performance Score
When Robin Van Persie put United into the lead in the first half, it seemed we could expect a United victory but Southampton are made of sterner stuff this season- and one could argue the champions somewhat less assured, so it wasn’t the biggest shock when Adam Lallana grabbed a late equaliser.
The game hadn’t been the David and Goliath fixture some expected as Southampton didn’t let the champions overawe them and could’ve took the lead halfway through the first half through Pablo Osvaldo. It was obvious from early on the Saints were trying for all three points.
Man of The Match
Adam Lallana was the Man of the Match and it was utterly deserved. The attacking midfielder passed 42 times, with a pass accuracy of 81%. While he was also successful with all of his take-ons. But perhaps the most important statistic was the fact he scored Southampton’s only goal, to give them a deserved point.
As Lallana’s Heat Map shows he was everywhere, he supported defensively and shifted from his central position to a more right sided role. Furthermore, he also made five key passes, he made more key passes than any player for either side. This symbolises the influence he had on the game today.
Key Observations
The match day post-mortems will no doubt blame Moyes’s changes as the real reason behind the two points United fans will feel they’ve lost, but there’s no denying that Southampton came to Old Trafford with a real sense of belief. It’s not just belief that wins you points against United but effort as well and the Saints never gave up, they created chances and kept going, at a time when United almost seemed to have taken their foot off the pedal.
Southampton can look towards players such as Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama who seemed to relish in the midfield battle between themselves, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini.
This isn’t the end of United’s title aspirations, nor does it cement Southampton’s Champions League place credentials but it does raise quite a few questions for both sides. Can United recover quickly and is it time to start taking Southampton serious?