Wayne Rooney's brace against Southampton secures a nervy win for Man United
A brace from Wayne Rooney was sufficient for Manchester United to see off an adventurous Southampton, who had taken an early lead through Rodriguez courtesy a calamitous defensive error from the home side. Some excellent play from the Saints saw them dominate the second half, but it led to nothing consequential, thanks largely to the towering presence of Vidic at the back for United, allowing them to record a nervy 2 – 1 win. 7 points clear at the top of the table, yet again, and some breathing space for the Red Devils.
There was a fresh look to the United side put out by Sir Alex Ferguson, with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling starting in the slots usually taken by Rafael and Ferdinand, although it was only clear that Jones would be at full back with Smalling in the centre once the game started. The visitors were up by a goal after just over two minutes at Old Trafford, thanks to an awful back pass from Michael Carrick, which fell kindly for Jay Rodriguez, who slipped past the advancing De Gea into the net from a tight angle on the left.
The lead wasn’t meant to last though, as the returning Rooney scored an equalizer just five minutes later. A lovely through ball from Shinji Kagawa put the English striker through on goal, and he made no mistake scoring low and hard past the helpless Boruc. Kagawa almost scored himself just under the ten minute mark when the ball was laid off for him with exemplary control from Rooney. Having flown across the box, Rooney’s cushion was sufficient for Kagawa to get his shot away but he only managed to hit the post, from a similar angle to Rodriguez’s goal.
Just past twenty minutes, it was Robin van Persie’s turn to come close to adding to United’s score, when his curled effort was deflected just onto the top of the net by Yoshida. Given too much time and space on the ball, RvP’s effort was no surprise, and Pochettino could be seen furiously screaming out instructions to his defenders. He had more reason to be aggrieved just a few minutes later, as Rooney doubled his and United’s tally for the game. RvP’s ball into the back post was headed back across the face of goal by Patrice Evra, leaving Rooney with a simple tap-in.
The match descended into a lull thereon, with the ball being knocked around in midfield to no consequence, until Danny Welbeck tested Boruc in the 40th minute. A clever reverse ball from van Persie gave Welbeck the chance to trick his way past the Soton defence, only to see his attempt denied by Boruc’s feet. Southampton went in at the break just one goal down, leaving Pochettino some work to do.
The Argentinian was proactive as well, responding with two changes at half time, including Adam Lallana’s entry into the fray. While this allowed Southampton greater control than before in midfield, the first chance of the second half fell Danny Welbeck’s way, when he failed to connect with a diving header, which would have been of much concern for Boruc. Southampton’s best chance came when David De Gea spilled straightforward catch from Lambert’s free kick, but was quick enough to scramble down and gather it in.
The visitors’ influence was clearly growing, so much so that Sir Alex chose to reinstate Rio Ferdinand and Rafael into the playing eleven. The veteran Englishman was needed to keep Lambert at bay as well, when Clyne demonstrated incredible pace to reach a diagonal, and directed a cross towards Lambert.
Robin van Persie nearly put United well on top again when he put the ball past Boruc from Rooney’s ball into the box, but was declared offside, having strayed just meagerly beyond the last defender. This came after Boruc had given a good showing of himself in denying the Dutchman just moments before. David De Gea pulled off an even better save, diving to his left, from yet another Lambert free kick, denying Southampton success to add to their momentum.
It was turning into an entertaining contest between the ‘keepers, as Rooney was denied a hat-trick by an advancing Boruc when through on goal on the left. Vidic came to De Gea’s rescue at the other end with a fine block when the ball fell to Ricky Lambert at the edge of the box, and the striker unleashed a fierce attempt at goal. Unfortunately, for neutrals, that would be the last of the significant action, as a couple of blocked attempts were all Southampton could manage, falling to a 2 – 1 defeat.
Result: Manchester United (Wayne Rooney 8’, 27’) 2 – 1 Southampton (Jay Rodriguez 3’)