Not the Sir Alex Ferguson Way: United concede late on as persistent Saints steal point at Old Trafford in 1-1 draw.
United fans were in confident mood yesterday morning as news broke that the club had successfully secured the services of teen sensation Adnan Januzaj on a five-year deal. The Belgium-born starlet's day got even better as he was also handed his second Premier League start after his match-winning performance at The Stadium of Light two weeks ago. United opted for changes in central midfield as Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini were chosen in the absence of Tom Cleverley. Defensively, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans were the preferred central pairing at the back.
Moyes' side started off brightly and got their first sight of goal inside 10 minutes as Van Persie had two efforts in as many minutes. The first came after a good ball over the top from Carrick found the striker in space in the box but his volley went wide of the far post. His next chance came after good interplay from Rafael and Nani but his shot didn't trouble Boruc and was easily saved.
Moments later a lapse in concentration from Rooney allowed Southampton a real chance, Lallana stole the ball off Rooney deep in United's half and crossed for Osvaldo in the box but luckily for United his shot did little to trouble De Gea who saved comfortably.
United finally got the breakthrough 26 minutes into the first half after man-of-the-moment Januzaj threaded Rooney in down the left with a beautifully weighted curling pass that left the England striker one-on-one with the keeper. His shot was hit straight at Boruc but Van Persie reacted quickest and took the rebound instinctively, rounded the keeper and fired in from the left to put United ahead.
Moments later a lapse in concentration from Rooney allowed Southampton a real chance, Lallana stole the ball off Rooney deep in United's half and crossed for Osvaldo in the box but luckily for United his shot did little to trouble De Gea who saved comfortably.
United finally got the breakthrough 26 minutes into the first half after man-of-the-moment Januzaj threaded Rooney in down the left with a beautifully weighted curling pass that left the England striker one-on-one with the keeper. His shot was hit straight at Boruc but Van Persie reacted quickest and took the rebound instinctively, rounded the keeper and fired in from the left to put United ahead.
United began to look dominant as Nani put in a cross that found Rooney in the box who lost his man and turned well to hit the bar with a powerful shot. Southampton were constantly pressing up the pitch and trying to limit United's attacking forces but it seemed only a matter of time before the home side would get that killer second.
Surprisingly, it was the Saints who looked the most likely to score after half time. Their fluidity in midfield and fast passing movement caused problems for United and they finally began to show some attacking purpose. First Shaw did incredibly well to send in a good cross after he had made a tireless overlapping run but his ball in was cleared by Evans before Lallana had time to strike. Southampton then created the best chance after half time from the following corner as Lovren's looping headed effort was cleared off the line by Van Persie.
United tried to up the tempo themselves and created many of their best chances through Januzaj. Around the hour mark he shared a lovely one-two with Evra which allowed the left back to cross for Rooney but it was cleared well by Southampton's resilient defence. The resulting corner from Rooney then caused havoc as it found Van Persie who guided his header well and was unlucky to see it graze the bar rather than nestle in the back of the net. The ball was then sent back into the crowded box acrobatically by Evans and fell onto the head of Nani who forced a solid save from Boruc but it was quickly scrambled away for another corner. United's second corner was this time punched away well by Boruc. The ball eventually found its way to Januzaj in space who unleashed a swerving left-foot power drive from outside the box but United were thwarted once again as it was saved tremendously by Boruc who was experiencing his busiest period of the match.
United tried to up the tempo themselves and created many of their best chances through Januzaj. Around the hour mark he shared a lovely one-two with Evra which allowed the left back to cross for Rooney but it was cleared well by Southampton's resilient defence. The resulting corner from Rooney then caused havoc as it found Van Persie who guided his header well and was unlucky to see it graze the bar rather than nestle in the back of the net. The ball was then sent back into the crowded box acrobatically by Evans and fell onto the head of Nani who forced a solid save from Boruc but it was quickly scrambled away for another corner. United's second corner was this time punched away well by Boruc. The ball eventually found its way to Januzaj in space who unleashed a swerving left-foot power drive from outside the box but United were thwarted once again as it was saved tremendously by Boruc who was experiencing his busiest period of the match.
At the other end Southampton struggled to trouble De Gea and get back on terms. The second goal seemed to have eluded United and David Moyes made some surprising substitutions that suggested he was happy to keep it at 1-0. First he replaced the attack-minded Nani with Giggs who was put on the right until Welbeck came on minutes later to replace Fellaini. Giggs went in the middle and immediately United looked like they might concede with Clyne finally testing De Gea who did well to make a fine stop after a quiet game.
However, the most baffling of all the changes came in the 87th minute when Rooney was taken off. This wouldn't have been too surprising as it wasn't his best performance but the shock came as the board went up to show that his replacement would be Chris Smalling. It clearly wasn't a like-for-like swap and it meant that Smalling would partner Evans in defence for the final minutes and Jones would push up into the midfield. However, it is indicative of United's failings in this area when a 39-year-old and a central defender are called upon to see the game out in midfield and it clearly showed that this is still a problem area at the club, regardless of the signing of Fellaini- who did little to prove himself to the fans with his display.
Whilst United supporters attempted to understand the substitutions, Southampton became confident that United had resigned themselves to only scoring one and their persistence paid off when they got a scrappy equaliser at the death, two minutes after Rooney had departed the field. One of their substitutes Ward-Prowse crossed dangerously from a corner and Lovren got just in front of Jones to slice it towards goal, it then took the slightest of deflections off Lallana's thigh and went through the legs of De Gea to gift Southampton a precious equaliser. Even with 5 minutes of injury time United could not find a winner, although some would have fancied their chances much better had two of their most attacking players Nani and Rooney still been on the field.
Whilst some will point the finger at David Moyes for some bizarre substitutions, United had numerous chances to get a second and put the game to bed in the second half but failed to find the clinical finish they needed. There are definitely several issues that need to be addressed, especially in midfield and these need to be rectified fast if United are to achieve a top four spot come May. Their attention now turns to Europe and with plenty of squad rotation expected, the fans will be hoping they can at least keep up their unbeaten start in this competition and put performances like yesterday's well and truly behind them.
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