You may not have noticed but Manchester United headed into Sunday’s Premier League clash with Southampton seeking a fourth win on the bounce. So much for a crisis under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The manager, who before the most recent international break had seen his troops lose in insipid displays against Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir, has United back to their best.
Well, almost. And not without a scare either. These are nervy days for the Red Devils, despite their winning run. A hard-fought triumph over Everton was followed by a gritty result against a defensive-minded West Brom side. Throw in the avenging of the Basaksehir with a comfortable victory last Tuesday and United looked to have got back into their groove.
And as Solskjaer marched off the St Mary’s field following a second-half reversal inspired by Edinson Cavani, it was clear the cracks in this United squad are still showing.
While Cavani will grab the headlines, United were undone by two set-pieces on the south coast – one that should easily have been cleared away, and the other a moment of wonderful precision from James Ward-Prowse. How frustrating it must have been for Solskjaer, who told the Sky Sports cameras before kick-off that his men had been working on defending the set piece.
We also witnessed the introduction of goalkeeper Dean Henderson halfway through the match. Some may say his first Premier League appearance in a United shirt has come nine games too late.
Here, i looks at the best and worst performances during United’s 3-2 comeback win…
Mason Greenwood 4/10
The England man has been kept away from the limelight in recent weeks after controversies both on international duty and at his club. Mason Greenwood’s last appearance for the Red Devils was in the miserably tepid 1-0 loss to Arsenal at Old Trafford at the start of November. His return to the first XI came with the absence of Anthony Martial and Solskjaer would have hoped to have inspired some grit in the young England gem.
But Greenwood laboured to get into the game here. He put an early chance just wide and enjoyed the occasional link-up play with United’s midfield, but all too often the forays forward would came to nothing. He lacked the physical and dynamic impact required to carve out chances against a Saints defence that seemed unperturbed when Greenwood was on the ball.
He was subbed off for Cavani at half time having missed another good chance.
Edinson Cavani 9/10
Greenwood’s withdrawal was necessary if United were to come back from two goals down at the break – and the arrival of Cavani certainly gave the Red Devils a greater threat up top. Cavani has arrived in the Premier League seemingly with a point to prove. Deprived the status of top dog at Paris Saint-Germain thanks to the emergence of Kylian Mbappe and the purchase of Neymar, Cavani is looking to right plenty of personal wrongs at Old Trafford.
And a display like we saw at St Mary’s will certainly aid the Uruguayan. Cavani may not have the pace and persistence of Greenwood but the experienced head knows better how to bring in teammates. And this is exactly what he did to set up Bruno Fernandes for United’s first goal in the second half, which slashed the deficit.
Minutes later and the ex-Napoli hero was celebrating finding the net for only the second time since his arrival in England. Cavani lingered in the box after a partially-cleared delivery and was quick to react to the incoming ball, heading past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy with the poachers’ instinct of Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Of course, it was always going to be the big man who grabbed the winner for United. Much like Van Nistelrooy, Cavani was there when his team needed him most. This time a cross from Marcus Rashford swung in to meet the long-haired veteran, who simply needed to glance the ball into the net. No thrills but awfully effective.
Donny van de Beek 5/10
United’s woeful first half could be summed up by Donny van de Beek’s inability to get a grip on the ball. He spent much of the opening 45 minutes orbiting around the focus of play. This was Van de Beek’s first start for United and came in the absence of Paul Pogba, who has not featured since before the international break.
Plenty of focus is put on the Dutchman because he was the sole big-money signing Solskjaer was allowed to make during the transfer window.
But it’s taken the Ajax product quite a while to get into his groove in a United team that really needs their star men to perform now, not later. Van de Beek had a far better second half when Southampton’s defence sat further and further back. But he wasn’t the orchestrator of this, and struggled when pressed. It was a passive performance at best – something that many United players are getting used to delivering.
David De Gea 4/10
Solskjaer stressed before kick-off the need to defend the set-piece but David De Gea was left flapping for both of Saints’ goals today. The Spaniard, whose place in the United XI has already been questioned this season since the return of Henderson from a loan spell at Sheffield United, was rooted to the spot for Jan Bednarek’s opener from a corner.
Ten minutes later and De Gea injured himself in trying to save Ward-Prowse’s pinpoint second from a free-kick. One wondered as the 30-year-old lay on his back with his gloves over his eyes if De Gea would have preferred the ground to swallow him up in that instance.
It didn’t do that but he was at least granted a reprieve to watch the second half from the terraces, having been subbed off at the break – one can assume because of the injury. Another quiet performance like that and the calls will grow for De Gea to lose his place.
Dean Henderson 6/10
The last time we saw Henderson in the Premier League is was at Southampton’s home ground. Back in the summer Henderson was seeing his successful loan stint at Sheffield United come to an end, with hopes that he may force his way into the Red Devils first team a few weeks later.
But with De Gea keeping his place for now, it’s been nine league games until we’ve seen the young England man in United jersey in the top flight. On came Henderson and he enjoyed a very solid half. Saints started the better after the break but the keeper matched a Theo Walcott drive early on, while the Red Devils defence appeared much more organised with the 23-year-old issuing commands.
United have a long winter ahead of them and did well to recover a win from what appeared in the first half to be a foregone conclusion. And Henderson should expect to be a part of the Premier League fixture congestion that awaits Solskjaer’s men, otherwise they could slip further away from the top four.
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