Jose Mourinho’s men have kept a firm foot of theirs in the title race and they started their game at St.Mary’s knowing the fact that they were the joint-leaders with Manchester City. The game started with the sides checking out each other until one good play down the wing saw Ashley Young cross in for Lukaku to convert. United then held on resiliently until the final whistle to get three massive points. Here’s how the Red Devils have been rated:-
GK: David De Gea – 7/10
Had to make a couple of crucial stops and intercept as well to stop the crosses. He was kept on his toes all evening as Southampton came pouring in with their attacks. Another clean-sheet is superb for the Spaniard.
RB: Antonio Valencia – 6.5/10
Couldn’t deliver much going forward and couldn’t get a lot of chances as well. He was tidy in the defensive sector.
CB: Eric Bailly – 8/10
Complimented Jones superbly and stood his ground resiliently clearing waves of the Southampton attacks.
CB: Phil Jones – 8.5/10
He was on beast mode today. Aerially top notch and his commitment never wavered. Top class and United fans would only hope this goes on for weeks and weeks.
LB: Ashley Young – 7/10
He has redeemed himself and cemented his place. He was focused, determined and did well on the right with Rashford’s attendance. It was his accurate cross that lead to the goal.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 6/10
United clearly missed Pogba’s presence. Matic tried his best but was run-over in that region completely during the second half. He is going to have a few challenging weeks.
CM: Marouane Fellaini – 6/10
Put in a lot of effort, running and it looked evident but needs to be more rigid and accurate while helping the team defensively.
RM: Juan Mata – 5/10
Had a really dull game barring the few attacking openings he got in the first half. substituted off in the second half.
CAM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6/10
He was immense in the first half and was at the centre of every United counter. The intensity dropped in the second half and he paved way for Herrera’s substitution.
LM: Marcus Rashford – 5/10
Dismal end product but worked extremely hard to defend from the right flank and kept Cedric at bay.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 6.5/10
Average but took his chance when it came along.
Substitutes:-
Ander Herrera – 6/10
He looked extremely sincere and tried to keep the pressure on Southampton. Wasted a glorious chance to kill off the game with a disappointing finish.
Chris Smalling – 6/10
Helped out Bailly and Jones after coming on and reassured the team.
