Southampton 1-1 Manchester United: 3 men who were poor for the Red Devils
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken some tough decisions over the summer. At the end of last season, the Norwegian had promised a rebuild at Old Trafford, and he has made some bold decisions so far. Solskjaer has shown tremendous belief in youth, refusing to replace Romelu Lukaku and allowing Alexis Sanchez to leave as well. However, recent results have put him in a bit of bother.
Manchester United succumbed to a crumbling home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend, where quite a few gaps within his United se-up were observed. As such, the game against Southampton represented a chance for the Norwegian to clear away the clouds of doubt and reinstate the supporters' faith in his plans.
Injuries and lack of form meant that Solskjaer had to make three changes to the team that lost to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. He brought in Ashley Young, Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira in place of the injured duo of Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial, and the out of form Jesse Lingard .
However, at the end of the 90 minutes, the Norwegian was left frustrated once again. Despite having a numerical advantage for the last 17 minutes plus stoppage time, United failed to win the game. The game ended in a draw, as the Red Devils were foiled once again by a team that sat deep in their own half.
Solskjaer will be disappointed with the performances of these 3 men, who were poor against the Saints:
#3 Victor Lindelof
Victor Lindelof started the game well and covered admirably for the marauding Aaron Wan-Bissaka on quite a few occasions. As United piled bodies forward, the home side regularly caught them out on the counter, but Lindelof performed well in one-on-one situations. However, as the game progressed, the Swede looked increasingly uncomfortable at times, especially under intense pressing from the home side and began to give the ball away.
Lindelof was also at fault for the Southampton goal. He failed to deal with the threat of Jannik Vestergaard, who bullied him in the box and scored the equalizer. The Swede looked vulnerable again against long balls, a weakness that was exploited by the home side.