Crikey, there really is change for the better occurring at Manchester United.
After upsetting the odds five days earlier at Old Trafford by beating Liverpool, manager Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have now shown they can do it on a sunny Saturday down south. A fortnight on from their desperate capitulation at Brentford in scorching west London temperatures, they set that record straight on a beautiful afternoon in Southampton.
Yep, this expensive group of underachievers can win on their travels. This ended a run or seven away defeats on the bounce. Things are looking up, then, with a second straight win which kept them in touch with the top six .
Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant second-half finish was the decisive moment and one that left Ten Hag beaming. He declared: “We did a lot better than at Brentford and we saw the best part of Manchester United after half-time. And we scored a wonderful goal, too. But there is still much to improve. It will take time but I saw some good stuff.”
To be heading to south coast so soon after that four-goal humiliation at the Brentford was an interesting challenge. Rather like jumping straight back on the horse after falling off. But in truth the Bees are way better on their patch than Southampton, who were looking for only their second home win in nine. That dreadful run had piled the pressure on boss Ralf Hasenhuttl before a comeback win at Leicester last weekend quietened calls for his head. Much like United’s success over Liverpool had eased the heat on Ten Hag.
The Dutchman enjoyed rave reviews on Monday for adopting route-one tactics as opposed to risky passing out of defence – and for axing Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire. He opted for the ‘‘if it ain’t broke why fix it’ approach here, picking the same line-up. Hard to say that looked a masterful decision during the opening 45 minutes in which United laboured – save for one extraordinary goalmouth scramble in the 20th minute.
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How the the Reds were not ahead at the end of the 30-second melee defied belief. Fernandes’ header was saved by Saints stopper Gavin Bazunu, who then made two terrific stops to deny Anthony Elanga. Still, the danger was not clear. Fernandes had another effort blocked by Kyle Walker-Peters before Armel Bella-Kotchap did likewise to Christian Eriksen’s drive. Having survived, the Saints very nearly made United pay ten minutes later. And it was defender Bella-Kotchap who should have punished them. He controlled Che Adams’ header brilliantly, only to mess up the easy part – skying over from six yards.
Everton-target Adams was a real menace to any United defender dallying on the ball. Yet the Scottish striker blasted wide on 36 minutes shortly after failing to connect properly with a shot at David de Gea. If United had been tepid before the break, they emerged all guns blazing for the second half – and were rewarded within ten minutes. Elanga made a storming run, found Jadon Sancho, who in turn put Diogo Dalot in on the right. The Portuguese defender could not have produced a better first-time cross for Fernandes.
The Reds skipper still had plenty to do, yet made it look easy - dispatching a vicious right-foot half-volley past helpless Bazunu. It was to be no stroll to the three points for United, though, as the Saints pushed hard for the equaliser. They came closest to getting it midway through the half, courtesy of Joe Aribo’s powerful header, which De Gea saved smartly. And that was about that, bar a handball shout against Scott McTominay, ignored by VAR, and a late debut for United’s new £60million ex-Real Madrid ace Casemiro. Saints chief Hasenhuttl said: “I’m proud of my guys. We had good chances but the ball wouldn’t go in. I think we deserved more, but the momentum was not on our side. “
