16 January 2025
Man Utd 3 Southampton 1
Ruben Amorim was still looking to crack the code with his Man Utd team. Rome was not built in a day, but the Portuguese manager’s plans seem to be a bigger project than anything in the history of humanity to date. Bottom of the table Southampton were the visitors to Old Trafford, finding themselves slipping further away from safety by the game.
Apparently, there were a lot of coaches and hierarchy at Man Utd who did not feel Amorim was the right appointment for the club. Dan Ashworth, who has now moved on, commented that in the entire first-team setup, there were only about three players who would be able to execute his style of play on the pitch. He is looking a very shrewd man every time you see them play.
There seemed a distinct change to the way the new manager has got his side playing since being a spectator to their many lacklustre performances. The structure is the same, but they seem to play a lot deeper, almost to add more protection to their defence. This presents its own problems however and they were clear for everyone to see.
When Southampton attacks broke down, whoever looked to burst forward and take the game to them had no support in front of them. To an extent, that is to be expected with Hojlund leading the line. If you watch him for long enough, he is like a Roomba who circuitry is telling him to never clean the floor in the penalty area.
Sulemana was causing problems on the left wing, beating Yoro every time he decided to take him on. The young centre-back was being dragged into a right-back position constantly due to their formation. On this occasion The Saints’ winger looked to bend one in the far corner but Onana got down well to make a decent save.
Dibling was waltzing past the Man Utd midfield and defence and glided into the box before getting a shot away on his favoured left-foot. Onana saved but, as always, parried it back into the danger area. Fernandes took it on his chest and looked to pull the trigger but the Red Devils’ keeper made a superb block to deny the visitors once again.
All too often, Man Utd’s defending look like a load of p***ed up toddlers who had mistakenly drunk the punch that was only meant for the adults at a birthday party. It was all too easy for the side who sat at the foot of the table to open them up. Once again they had the hosts on the back foot but Amorim’s side managed to put it behind for a corner.
The resulting cross was swung into the box and flicked on at the near post by Ugochukwu. Ugarte was not even facing play, solely focussed on his man. The ball struck his back and Onana failed to keep it out his goal. After seeing the replay, questions will be asked whether the Man Utd keeper should have done better to prevent the hosts falling behind.
Amorim’s side were playing so poorly, they were making Southampton look like Real Madrid. In particular, they were making Sulemana look like Vinicius Junior. He knocked the ball in behind Yoro out wide and ran around him to get onto the end of his own pass. He made a beeline for the penalty area and looked to bend one in the far corner but put it wide of the target.
Man Utd made changes to try and spark their side into life. Garnacho got down the left wing and played a brilliant ball into the back post to Antony. With Ramsdale at his near post, it was an open goal for the Brazilian. For some reason, he went to ground and ended up clearing the ball from The Saints’ goal. Classic Antony, always about the comedy first.
Finally the hosts managed to break down the Southampton defence. Amad shifted the ball onto his left-foot and looked to get a shot away. It was blocked by Walker-Peters but dropped to the feet of the winger once again. He beat Ramsdale at his near post to equalise and the roof almost came off Old Trafford as it hit the back of the net.
This gave Amorim’s side an adrenaline hit and they wanted to go onto to win it. The young winger was involved again as he played it into Eriksen. He dinked a superb pass over the defence and Amad volleyed home to break Southampton hearts. In the final minute or normal time, the Red Devils had found the goal to give them all three points.
Despite the intense press they were under, The Saints continued to try and play out from the back. Ramsdale played a pass to Walker-Peters, whose first touch was like he was playing in Doc Martens. Amad ghosted in to tap the ball into an empty net and claim his first senior hat-trick for the club in the process. The ground erupted into a cauldron of noise.
Man Utd grabbed a victory from the jaws of defeat and once again Southampton had dropped points from a winning position. The Red Devils stayed in the bottom half of the table despite the win. For The Saints, their chances of remaining in the top-flight are shrinking with each game week. It will take nothing short of a miracle to secure their Premier League status this campaign.
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