Southampton v Man Utd LIVE: Marcus Rashford scores in comfortable win to lift pressure on Erik ten Hag
Southampton 0-3 Manchester United: Matthijs de Ligt and Rashford struck twice in eight minutes for the visitors after Cameron Archer’s penalty was saved by Andre Onana
Manchester United claimed a morale-boosting win to ease the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag as Southampton lost a fourth consecutive game since returning to the Premier League.
United came into the early kick-off needing a result following back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Liverpool and Southampton were handed an early chance to give Ten Hag a further problem when Diogo Dalot fouled 18-year-old winger Tyler Dibling in the penalty area.
But Cameron Archer’s effort from the spot was saved by Andre Onana and moments later the striker’s miss was punished by Matthijs de Ligt, the defender heading home from Bruno Fernandes’ excellent cross for his first United goal since signing from Bayern Munich.
Marcus Rashford then scored his first Manchester United goal since March to double the lead for the visitors. The forward was left unmarked on the edge of the box and bent a dipping shot inside Aaron Ramsdale’s post to end his scoring drought after a difficult start to the season.
Southampton offered little in the second half - in fact, Russell Martin’s side did not have another shot on goal after Archer’s penalty miss - and they were later reduced to 10 men when captain Jack Stephens was sent off for a wild lunge on Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho added a third in stoppage time as United claimed an important three points. Follow all the reaction to Manchester United’s win in our live blog, below
Manchester United survive early scare against Southampton to claim ‘much-needed’ win
Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford scored shortly after Andre Onana’s spot-kick save to put Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United on course for a much-needed 3-0 victory at promoted Southampton.
Both sides returned from the international break in desperate need of a result as Saints sought a first point since their Premier League return against a team reeling from their humbling home loss to rivals Liverpool.
Southampton started brightly but collapsed after Onana saved Cameron Archer’s poor penalty, with De Ligt’s first United goal and Rashford’s first of the campaign knocking the stuffing out of Saints.
Alejandro Garnacho added late gloss to a win that alleviates some of the pressure on Ten Hag, who could ill afford to oversee the Red Devils’ first St Mary’s defeat since 2003 after back-to-back defeats.
Manchester United survive early scare against Southampton to claim ‘much-needed’ win
Southampton 0-3 Manchester United: A difficult start ended in a comfortable victory on the south coast for Erik ten Hag’s side
Manchester United fixtures
Erik ten Hag’s side now face a run of three games in three different competitions in eight days, followed by tests against Tottenham and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
H vs Barnsley (EFL Cup )- Tuesday 17 Sep
A vs Crystal Palace (PL) - Saturday 21 Sep
H vs FC Twente (Europa League) - Wednesday 25 September
H vs Tottenham (PL) - Sunday 29 September
A vs Porto (Europa League) - Thursday 3 October
A vs Aston Villa (PL) - Sunday 6 October
Manuel Ugarte makes ‘very good’ first impression on Manchester United debut
Erik ten Hag what Manuel Ugarte can bring to Manchester United:
“It was good we could bring him on. You saw straight away what he can bring to the team. He brings control to the midfield, good interceptions, he can be very aggressive but also on the ball very composed, he can link between defence and attack. First impressions, very good.”
Erik ten Hag asked if it is important for Manchester United to have a ‘run’
“The mood is very good in our team. We know the expectations are always high but we have to deal with it. We have to build our season and we will see in May.”
Erik ten Hag on Manchester United injury concerns
Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui were all replaced in the second half:
“We had the international break and some were short in the pre-season, some had continental flights and we had the 12:30 game on Saturday.
“It’s a struggle [for the players] but hopefully it is nothing serious. We have to assess it today and tomorrow and we will see.”
Erik ten Hag on ‘very good player’ Matthijs De Ligt
“We know we signed a very good player with a number of attributes, one of them is he is a threat on set plays. I’m very happy he scored that goal and it was a good cross from Bruno.”
Marcus Rashford’s goal ‘huge’ for Manchester United forward
Erik ten Hag on Marcus Rashford’s first goal for Manchester United since March.
“It’s very important. We spoke before the game and it’s so huge for him and every striker to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first, I’m sure there will be more.”
Erik ten Hag on Manchester United’s 3-0 win at Southampton
“We have to win every game. Every game you can ask the same question but we did today. Sometimes you have to find a way to win. In the first minutes of the game we had some problems, until the save from Andre and the goal from De Ligt. The game was all ours after that.
“We wanted to kill the game off and we had the chances. I don’t know how many chances, several, to go three or four up.”
Andre Onana: Penalty save was ‘important moment for us’
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana speaks to TNT Sports about his penalty save:
“It was very good to save that one. It was an important moment for us, a key situation. After that penalty we took control. The most important thing was the win.
“I would say it was a turning point. We had a great game, a clean sheet, and we move on and try and learn from our mistakes.”
On Marcus Rashford: “He had a difficult season last year but it’s not how you fall it’s how you stand up. Today he came back and scored. He needed this goal, we needed this goal and hopefully he scores more for the team.”
Southampton 0-3 Manchester United: The 10 minutes that turned the game
31’ - Southampton winger Tyler Dibling beats Diogo Dalot and is fouled in the box
33’ - Cameron Archer steps up to take penalty but Andre Onana saves down low
35’ - Matthijs de Ligt opens scoring with first United goal from Bruno Fernandes cross
41’ - Marcus Rashford scores first goal since March to double United’s lead
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