Southampton 1-1 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points | Premier League 2019-20
Manchester United visited Southampton in the Premier League after a shock loss against Crystal Palace last weekend. The Red Devils dropped points yet again as Southampton held them to a draw despite being down to 10 men.
Daniel James gave Manchester United the lead in the 10th minute with a powerful curler past Angus Gunn. After struggling to hold on to the lead till half-time, Manchester United crumbled under Southampton's pressure in the second half as Jannik Vestergaard gave them the equalizing goal.
Kevin Danso brought Scott McTominay down on the right-wing and earned himself a second yellow, reducing the home side to just 10. A resurgent defense for the last 20 odd minutes saw Southampton holding on to the solitary point. Manchester United's dismal start continues as they have earned only 5 points in the opening four games of the season.
Here are five talking points from the game.
#5 Fearless, Resurgent, Rock-Hard: Southampton gave everything they had
Unlike Crystal Palace last weekend who sat back and invited Manchester United to try and unlock their defense, Southampton took a different route. The home side pressed United high up the pitch and had an attacking intent in their game.
After conceding the goal and dealing with the frustrating low-tempo game of United, Southampton grew into the game a lot more towards the end of the first half. From the start of the second half, Southampton put United on the backfoot. They were rewarded for their efforts by Jannik Vestergaard who sprang up and connected a strong header past David de Gea.
After the red-card and an ominous spell of United possession, the home team regrouped with a 4-4-1, trying to contain United's attack and succeeded in doing so. They kept the defense compact, not leaving gaps for any player to attack, and had a strong mark so that no player slipped them to connect with the cutbacks.
All in all, a hard-fought point for Southampton and their players and fans both deserve it alike.