Southampton 0 Manchester United 3: Rashford off the mark, Onana double save and Zirkzy flash – The Briefing

Manchester United picked up their second league win of the season with a 3-0 win over Southampton at St Mary's.

Russell Martin's side came into the match without a point from their first three games but started brightly, with 18-year-old Tyler Dibling repeatedly troubling Diogo Dalot. But the match turned when Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer's penalty with a brilliant dribbling win. Within minutes, Matthijs de Ligt put United ahead, before Marcus Rashford scored his first shot and then the first goal of the 2024-25 season to make it 2-0 at half-time.

Southampton rarely threatened a comeback after the break and the United fans showed Manuel Ugarte's first appearance in the last 20 minutes. A late red card for Jack Stephens for an ugly challenge on Alejandro Garnacho – who scored United's third – capped another frustrating day for the promoted side.

Carl Anka and Mark Carey analyze an important win for Erik ten Haag's men.

A momentous afternoon for Marcus Rashford

“Not just today, he's in a good place and he needs a goal or an assist,” Erik ten Haag said of Marcus Rashford before the game.

“He had a very good cross in the last match. That moment will come, we will wait for that momentum and then he will fly. All strikers want to score goals and from my experience, once a striker starts scoring goals they will fly.”

Before the trip to the south coast, Rashford had not managed a shot in his first three Premier League games this season and had been without a goal in a United shirt since May.

(Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

The 26-year-old looked lacking in confidence before the international break, particularly against Liverpool where he had multiple chances to run at his man but opted to drop back and play a safe pass. But away from representing their country alongside his team-mates, Rashford worked on his fitness and finishing in knocks – and it seems to have paid off.

In the 40th minute, he scored his first shot of the season. In the 41st minute, he scored his first goal of the season. A typical Rashford finish saw him fade inside before an effort aimed at the far post. It may not be the cleanest of strikes, but is off the mark for forward promotions. He now hopes to maintain the momentum his manager has patiently built him up.

Mark Carey

How important was Onana's penalty save?

Ongoing rehabilitation from a calf injury means Luke Shaw will miss a homecoming trip to St Mary's. Diogo Dalot continued in his place at left-back. The left flank has been a problem position for United for much of the calendar year and those struggles were evident for much of the first half against Southampton.

Russell Martin's decision to swap from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 meant academy graduate Tyler Dibling had a guaranteed platform to run through United's defence. The teenager made the most of it, giving Dalt the twisted blood on multiple occasions. It was a first-half performance from the Portugal international that foreshadowed a tumultuous Champions League outing against Villarreal in 2021-22. Southampton spent much of the early stages of the game pressing high, moving the ball well out wide and beating United with crucial second balls.

Things went from bad to worse on the half-hour mark, when Dibling dribbled the ball past Dalt on the left and onto the byline. The ball looked in danger of going out, only for Dallot to stick his foot out and dribble just inside the box.

A frustrating 30 minutes of football for United looked to get worse as referee Stuart Atwell awarded Southampton a penalty. Yet Andre Onana got the momentum back for Erik ten Haag's side, getting down and to the left to save Cameron Archer's shot before saving a second effort.

(Michael Steele/Getty Images)

United took the lead five minutes later when Matthijs de Ligt headed in a Bruno Fernandes cross at the back post before Aaron Ramsdale found the ball. Six minutes later, Marcus Rashford made it 2-0, cutting inside from the left wing and curling the ball into the bottom right corner.

United were second-best for most of the first half, but went 2-0 up at half-time. And it started with a double save from their goalkeeper.

Andre Onana stops Cameron Archer from 12 yards 🤩

🫣 A brilliant chance for Southampton to take an early lead

📺 @tntsports And @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sZYoUbQOZ9

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 14, 2024

Carl the duck

Why Zirkzee's link play is a window into the future

At the start of the summer, any fan who thought of Joshua Zirkzy as the answer to Manchester United's goalscoring woes would be misreading the 23-year-old Dutchman's key attributes.

He scored the winner against Fulham on the opening day, and would continue to chip in with a lackluster goal contribution throughout the season, but his link play between midfield and attack is undoubtedly the strongest part of his skill set.

Go deeper

Man Utd new boy Zirkzy: Striker with 'unicorn' skill set who offers something different

He showed plenty of examples of this against Southampton, often coming to the ball to offer himself to a teammate before making a first-time pass to runners in front of him — often Amad Diallo.

He was lifting the ball out of the air with a deft touch, nutmeging Southampton players on the halfway line before slotting us forward, and he even dropped back into United's defensive line when Southampton's Ben Brereton Diaz broke forward on the counter-attack. .

(Glynn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

He could and should have scored on a poor attempt at goal in the first phase and a blocked shot while giving time in the box in the later phase. But even if he doesn't score, it's clear that Zirkzy still contributes to United's overall attack – something that can't be said of all the players who have led the way for Manchester United in recent years.

With Rasmus Hjlund close to returning to United's attack, the Dane is surely licking his lips as Zirkzy plays behind him and provides the service United craved last season.

Mark Carey

What did Eric Ten Hague say?

The Manchester United manager was pleased with his team's performance on the south coast. “We have to win every game and we did today,” he said while talking to TNT Sports. Sometimes you have to find a way to win. We had some problems in the first minutes of the game but Andre later [Onana] Matthijs de Light's penalty and goal closed, the game was ours.

Ten Hague are also pleased with Marcus Rashford's performance. “It is very important. We spoke before the game and it's huge for him, for every striker, when the season starts you want to be on the scoring list. Now that he has his first, I'm sure more will come. We had chances to close the game, I don't know how many. A couple of us had to go 3 or 4-0.”

What's next for Manchester United?

Tuesday, September 17: Barnsley (H), Carabao Cup third round, 8pm BST, 3pm ET

Saturday, September 21: Crystal Palace (A), Premier League, 5.30pm BST, 12.30pm ET

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(Header photo: Getty Images)