Manchester United returned to winning ways on the south coast on Sunday afternoon, beating Southampton in a closely-fought affair having previously lost away in the Champions League to PSV Eindhoven.
Anthony Martial made his first Premier League start whilst Marcos Rojo came in for the injured Luke Shaw and Rooney started after recovering from a recent hamstring injury.
A poor first 25 minutes from the Red Devils saw Pelle put the Saints in front but Martial equalised later on in the half.
United really picked up the tempo in the second half and goals from Martial and Mata before Pelle nodded in late saw the game finish 3-2. Here’s how we ranked the players…
David de Gea – 9
Arguably man of the match, Big Dave proved again why he’s one of the very best in the business with two world-class saves amongst some others – notably denying an almost certain Jose Fonte goal with the game finely poised at 2-1.
Matteo Darmian – 5
Was taken off in a tactical switch at half time and he did nothing on note in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Offered very little going forward and was not as convincing as he has been so far at the back.
Chris Smalling – 7
Was pulled out of position a few times in the first half as Blind battled with Graziano Pelle but all in all, a solid game from the Maidstone Maldini.
Daley Blind – 7
Was poor for the first 30 minutes of the game as Pelle exposed his small stature but that wasn’t all his fault as he wasn’t given the same protection from Rojo as Shaw usually offers down the left side. Had a very good second half.
Marcos Rojo – 6
He’s no Luke Shaw and the England defender was missed but Rojo did offer decent support going forward. Not his finest game but he was up against a lot of speed in Saido Mane and was perhaps left a little exposed by the midfield.
Michael Carrick – 6
We’ve seen much better from Carrick but he did okay. He was sat very very deep in order to try and thwart the very free movement of Saido Mane. Was replaced on the hour mark.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 7
Booed by the Saints fans every time he got on the ball whilst Southampton were ahead, he can leave his old stomping ground fairly pleased with his performance. The side as a collective were poor in the first half but Schneiderlin offered brilliant protection for his back four in the second period of the game.
Juan Mata – 8
Not as efficient as usual in the first half but thoroughly impressive in the second – he assisted Martial’s first goal and scored United’s third. A nice shift from the Spaniard.
Wayne Rooney – 6
A passenger in the first half, Rooney was supposedly playing in the #10 role behind Anthony Martial but spent large portions of the game deep in the heart of midfield with Schneiderlin. No real direct attacking threat but it’s good to see him back and his passing was tidy.
Memphis Depay – 6
Hit the post in the second half and combined well with Martial throughout the game but he’s just not finding any consistency in a United shirt so far. There’s flashes of what he can do all the time, but we’re still waiting for it to click.
Anthony Martial – 9
What a boy. Having scored the winner against Liverpool on his Premier League debut last week, Martial gains all of the plaudits again on his first start in English football – when United were looking desolate at 1-0 down, he showed amazing composure to equalise before scoring again on the other side of the half-time break. This kid has ice running through his veins.
Substitutes:
Antonio Valencia – 7
Had a solid game as he played 45 minutes. His strength was a big asset for the defence in the second half and he did well to help keep Southampton out as they pressed for a stoppage-time equaliser.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 7
Not too much to talk about – he got his obligatory minutes on the pitch, exchanging places with Michael Carrick as the pair have all season. A tidy performance
Paddy McNair – 7
Got 20 minutes of game time at centre-back and helped hold onto the three points when Southampton were pressing hard. Always nice to see him get onto the pitch.
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