“He changed the game for us” - Matthijs de Ligt salutes Manchester United teammate after 3-0 win against Southampton
Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt hailed his Manchester United teammate André Onana in their Premier League win against Southampton. The match ended in a 3-0 victory for the Red Devils on Saturday, September 14 at St. Mary's Stadium.
Southampton were awarded a penalty after Tyler Dibling drew a foul in the penalty area by United's Diogo Dalot in the 30th minute. André Onana pulled off an impressive save from the spot-kick taken by Cameron Archer in the bottom left corner. The Cameroonian goalkeeper saved the attempted header by Archer from the center of the box from the deflection off his penalty save.
Matthijs de Ligt opened the scoring for Manchester United from an assist by Bruno Fernandes in the 35th minute. Marcus Rashford netted the second one for the Red Devils ending his 189 days goal draught.
Alejandro Garnacho, who came on the pitch replacing Rashford in the 73rd minute, took the score to three. Amad Diallo set him up minutes before the final whistle.
While referring to the victory as "really important," De Ligt heaped praise on André Onana, claiming that the goalkeeper turned the match in their favor. The Dutchman said (via Utd District on X):
"The win was really important. If you get three points from three games, it's not enough, so there was some pressure, but I think today we played very well. A big credit to Andre Onana who saved a really important penalty, he changed the game for us."
Manchester United now have six points in the Premier League after four matches. The Red Devils play against Crystal Palace next in the league on September 21, at Selhurst Park. Before that, they will face Barnsley at home in the EFL Cup third round on September 17.
Erik ten Hag on Manchester United's win against Southampton
Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag spoke about his side's performance in their 3-0 win against Southampton in the Premier League. While speaking to BBC Match Day after the clash, the Dutch manager referred to Onana's penalty save as the "turnaround in the game". He said:
"The start was not easy. I think the penalty was the turnaround in the game and not so far after we scored and that was very important. From that moment on, the game was all ours."
About goal scorer Matthijs de Ligt's display in the match, Ten Hag added:
"I'm not surprised. At this moment he is not fit, he's not 100% speed. He needs the games to go up to it. We see glimpses now and once he's there he will do much better. We are happy with him and especially today with his game."
Manchester United signed De Ligt from Bayern Munich in the summer for €45 million plus add-ons.