Southampton vs Man Utd LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Bruno Fernandes’s goal
Manchester United did just enough to get all three points against a dogged Southampton
Manchester United travel to Southampton for Saturday’s early Premier League kick off as they look to build on the back of their impressive 2-1 victory over Liverpool last time out. Erik ten Hag’s men displayed a level of energy and intensity that has been lacking at Old Trafford in recent times and avoided a third consecutive defeat after losses to Brighton and Brentford.
There is a now an optimism around the team and they will have to live up to their own standards if they are to beat a Southampton side that recorded their first win of the season against Leicester City last weekend.
After a 4-1 hammering from Tottenham and a 2-2 draw with Leeds, the Saints responded to a James Maddison goal to come from behind and claim a 2-1 victory away at the Foxes thanks to Che Adams’ brace. It was their second game in a row that they’ve claim points from losing positions and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will be hoping to get stuck into this shaky Manchester United side this afternoon.
Follow all the action from St Mary’s as Southampton host Manchester United in the Premier League:
Arsenal vs Fulham early team news
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has a near fully-fit squad to choose from with only Reiss Nelson, who has a thigh injury, missing. Nicolas Pepe joined Nice on a season-long loan earlier this week.
Fulham midfielder Neeskens Kebano missed last week’s win over Brentford with a groin injury and will be assessed before this game.
But Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon are definitely out as they are recovering from knee injuries. Both players face several more weeks on the sidelines.
Mikel Arteta will not guarantee Arsenal will sign Nicolas Pepe replacement
Mikel Arteta believes the current transfer market is tougher than ever, predicting a “very powerful” end to the window, but offered no guarantees Arsenal would sign a replacement for Nicolas Pepe.
The Gunners sit top of the Premier League table and are the only club to boast a perfect start to the season following their win at Bournemouth last week.
Recruiting early has been key to their strong opening, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko signed before a ball was kicked in earnest.
Mikel Arteta will not guarantee Arsenal will sign Nicolas Pepe replacement
The Ivory Coast international has joined Nice on loan after asking for more game time.
Fulham’s recent results
Fulham started their season brilliantly and were unlucky to come away from Craven Cottage with only a point after impressing against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The Cottagers twice went ahead in the game but on both occasions were reigned in and in the end had to settle for a point.
It was a sketchier affair against Wolves in their next match but they created some decent chances and just couldn’t convert. That game ended 0-0 to give Fulham their second point of the season.
They finally earned their first win last time out with a last minute winner from Aleksandar Mitrovic. A close-fought battle with Brentford looked to be ending in another draw but Mitrovic popped up to find the back of the net in the final minute to send Craven Cottage wild.
Recent results for Arsenal
Coming up later tonight, Arsenal host Fulham at the Emirates stadium in an attempt to kept their 100 per cent winning record in tact.
They kicked off the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory away to Crystal Palace. Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring before a Marc Guehi own goal completed the win.
Next up were Leicester City and Gabriel Jesus got his first goals in an Arsenal shirt to help them to a 4-2 victory against the Foxes.
Last time out was another convincing win with Bournemouth falling to a 3-0 loss. Martin Odegaard scored twice before William Saliba capped off an exceptional performance with a goal of his own.
More from the Manchester United boss
"It has to be the standard for Manchester United. It has to be normal but also you celebrate every win because you have to fight for it. We learnt from our lesson in Brentford.
"There is room for improvement but there was also some really good football. The last half an hour was a survival and there I think we can do better.
"There was not always pressure on the ball but [the defenders] stayed compact and were straight in the duals. I was comfortable they would deal with it. The finish [from Bruno Fernandes] was magnificent but the part before, it was a team goal. We built it up from the back and there were some more moments straight after half time where it was well played from the team. We have to improve in possession.
"The win against Liverpool gave us a lot of belief because we knew we could compete against one of the best teams in the world. Still at the start of the season it is really tough and hard work so everyone in the squad needs to be conscious of that.
"The transfer window... you don’t know what to expect. We will see. As Manchester United you always have to try do better so we can see if we can strengthen the squad, if not we will do with what we have got."
A delighted Erik ten Hag tells BT Sport
“I think the players learnt some lessons from Brentford. We were more compact on the long balls. Of course we were really happy. The goal we created, we could have made more. You hope to have more control in the last 30 minutes of the game.
“Before half time we already had the best chance of the game. I was satisfied. At the start of the game we could have created more. It is the start of the season, it is tough. You have to battle and we did that today so we were rewarded.
“It was a fantastic finish. I am really happy for Bruno [Fernandes]. But I think it was the best part of us. We kept control straight after half time. We moved it around and we created three really good chances straight after half time and that is how I want us to play.
“I still feel there is room for improvement, to control more, but we are not that long in our way. We can improve that is clear.”
Moussa Djenepo’s post match reaction
Southampton winger Moussa Djenepo gave his post-match reaction following the 1-0 loss to Manchester United saying: “We give everything. It is football so sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The most important thing is to keep going with the hard work. We played like a family on the pitch, compact and a lot of communication. We work every day.
“We will take the positive things to prepare for the next game. We are a young team and we want to learn altogether. We will find a good way together.”
Bruno Fernandes volleys Manchester United past Southampton to successive league wins
Bruno Fernandes finally corrects course, as Manchester United continue to rectify errors.
That doesn’t just apply to the season and the line-up, but this entire 1-0 victory over Southampton - and especially the match-winning Portuguese. United are still capable of moments, but Erik ten Hag needs to build them up into complete performances.
His were obviously improved on Brentford, but weren’t as good as against Liverpool, and there were many long passages when Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side seemed certain to get something out of the game. One of those was Joe Aribo’s close-range header, after yet another United passage of play had broken down.
Bruno Fernandes volleys Manchester United past Southampton to successive league wins
Southampton 0-1 Manchester United: A second-half strike was enough to continue the momentum following the win over Liverpool
FT Southampton 0-1 Man Utd
Post-match reaction from Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl who told BT Sport: “I’m very proud of what the guys did today. They did a really good job from the first minute. We had good moments and chances, we really stretched them. We deserved more but sometimes football is like this.
“We had very good moments and a lot of good chances in the box. They had two shots on target in the second half. I felt we were always dangerous. Every set piece was dangerous and we were really stretching them, but the ball didn’t want to go in.
“I’m not scared with this team because they really fight for our targets and this is good to see.”
FT Southampton 0-1 Man Utd
Only Mohamed Salah (54), Harry Kane (49) and Son Heung-Min (45) have scored more Premier League goals than Bruno Fernandes (37) since his debut in February 2020.
Good company to be in.
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