Player Ratings: Southampton 1-1 Manchester United
Manchester United fail to follow up their opening day euphoria as the Red Devils were held by the Saints. Che Adams caused the opener in the first half, as his shot from outside the box cannoned off Fred’s left foot, deflecting past David de Gea. United responded early on in the second half through Mason Greenwood, and all seemed to point to a typical St Mary’s comeback for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men. However, after some huffing and puffing from both sides, the spoils were shared.
Here are how each player performed.
David De Gea: 6
Man United’s number one put in a decent performance today, in particular making a solid stop during a one-on-one encounter with Southampton’s Adam Armstrong. One goal was conceded, however, the Spaniard was not at fault.
Defence
Luke Shaw: 5
Luke Shaw, by recent standards, had a poor performance today. His usual confidence and ability to charge into the opposition half wasn’t there. Although making a few important tackles on different occasions, Shaw seemed off the pace today.
Embed from Getty ImagesHarry Maguire: 5
Similar to Shaw, United’s captain didn’t have a fantastic display in today’s game. Despite having an overall decent performance, as captain of his team, was unable to grasp the game for the Reds and, in turn, lead Manchester United to victory. In addition to this, Maguire had an incident where he was easily muscled off the ball, almost leading to a Southampton goal- if it were not for a great save at the hands of David De Gea.
Victor Lindelof: 6
Victor Lindelof had a fairly average performance today- making no real mistakes and generally keeping hold of possession. However, this was not a stand-out performance from the Swede as he made little impact on the overall result
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 6
Wan-Bissaka had a decent game today. He used his speed to bomb up and down United’s right flank, providing an attacking threat. However, he was generally unable to capitalise on this, failing to provide any significant crossing threat.
Midfield
Nemanja Matic: 5
Matic, today, was poor. He was completely unable to control or dictate the midfield, losing the ball on several occasions and seeming to struggle to keep up with the pace of the game throughout the 90 minutes.
Embed from Getty ImagesFred: 4
Fred was arguably the worst Manchester United player today. He was extremely shaky at the start of the game, losing possession time after time. Fred had no positive impact for United in an attacking sense, offering virtually nothing. In addition, Fred’s usual tenacity did him no favours, with his intercepting and defensive abilities being nonexistent.
Bruno Fernandes: 6
Bruno made little impact on today’s game. Despite having direct involvement in the build-up play to Man United’s goal, Bruno was kept quiet by the Southampton defenders- seemingly incapable of finding one of his typically fantastic through-balls or shots.
Paul Pogba: 7
Paul Pogba was one of the few bright sparks in United’s game today. He provided an excellent assist for Mason Greenwood, and almost scored (what would’ve been) a great goal himself. Pogba used his technical ability, strength, and effortless control of the ball to influence the midfield and United left-hand side.
Attack
Anthony Martial: 5
Anthony Martial had no real involvement within the game today, being subbed off at around the 60-minute mark. He was marked out of the game completely, offering little to no attacking influence on the game for United, portraying a concerning lack of urgency and tenacity in his forward runs.
Embed from Getty ImagesMason Greenwood: 7
Much like Paul Pogba, young Mason Greenwood had another good performance today, scoring United’s only goal of the game with a clinical finish. Greenwood, at only 19, is fast becoming a consistent performer on a weekly basis for the Red Devils, continually developing his game as a forward who can play across the whole front-line.
Substitutes
Jadon Sancho: 6
Jadon Sancho made another cameo performance today. He looked sharp, displaying a quick passing ability, whilst linking up well with the likes of Wan-Bissaka and Lingard when he came on, also.
Scott Mctominay: 5
As a result of having a lack of game-time and being brought on as a substitute, McTominay looked rusty today- committing several fouls, failing to win the ball, and being unable to have any control over the midfield.
Jesse Lingard: 6
Whilst only on the pitch for 10 minutes or so, Lingard appeared bright, energetic, and confident. He offered a different attacking dimension for United and perhaps should’ve been brought on earlier.
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