Manchester United vs Southampton player ratings: Victor Wanyama inspires Saints as Wayne Rooney fires a blank

Man-for-man marking from the Premier League clash at Old Trafford

Sam Hall
Saturday 23 January 2016 19:38 GMT
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Louis van Gaal: I never reign beyond my grave
Louis van Gaal: I never reign beyond my grave (Getty Images)

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A headed Charlie Austin goal three minutes from time gave Southampton a win at Old Trafford. Boos rang out at half time before being magnified into a cacophony at full time putting further pressure on the Dutchman.

In truth United just weren’t good enough; Wanyama controlled the midfield throughout whilst Shane Long buzzed around as a constant nuisance throughout the game. For 86 minutes quality was a rarefied commodity at Old Trafford with misplaced passes and errant shots the norm.

Morgan Schneiderlin and Marouane Fellaini failed to spark the Red’s midfield as they were constantly forced to turn away from goal by the determined Southampton defence. The addition of Juan Mata did little to ease pressure on United in the second half as they looked relatively content to take a 0-0 draw.

However, after Adnan Januzaj gave away a needless foul on the right wing, a magnificent ball from James Ward-Prowse found Charlie Austin, who, peeling away from his marker nodded the ball past De Gea.

So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery below to find out.

Who was your man of the match? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.

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