Southampton 0, Manchester United 3
Matthijs De Ligt scored as Manchester United eased to a 3-0 Premier League win against Southampton at St Mary’s.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe result might have looked comfortable but the Reds only kicked into gear after the Saints won but missed a penalty in the first half.
The Reds had only made two changes after the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford to Liverpool before the international break – Casemiro and Alejandro Garnacho were dropped while Christian Eriksen and Amad Diallo came into the side.
Diogo Dalot had brought down exciting 18-year-old Southampton debutant Tyler Dibling in the box after 31 minutes.
Cameron Archer, who had never taken a penalty before, took the spot kick ahead of Ben Brereton Diaz, who had scored seven but Andre Onana made a superb save to his right and also caught the rebound.
Spared a potentially embarrassing start against the toothless Saints, United made the most of their reprieve when Dutch defender De Ligt headed the Reds into the lead a few minutes later when he met Bruno Fernandes’ enticing ball into the box past Aaron Ramsdale.
Six minutes after that they had doubled their lead through Marcus Rashford’s first goal since March – a low strike through a crowd.
With a two goal cushion United could relax, and Manuel Ugarte got some second half minutes in after replacing Eriksen as he made his United debut from the bench.
Saints’ Jack Stephens was sent off for a reckless challenge on Alejandro Garnacho with 11 minutes to go as Southampton tried and failed to get back into the game.
The Argentine substitute rounded off the scoring with a third goal rifled into the roof of the net in the 6th minute of added time.
With Barnsley in the Carabao Cup coming up on Tuesday it’s likely that United will field a changed side ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace next Saturday.