Man Utd player ratings vs Southampton: Viva the Ajax old boys! Matthijs de Ligt and Andre Onana ease the pressure on Erik ten Hag as Marcus Rashford ends six-month goal drought
Getty The Red Devils rode an early storm on a sun-lit south coast to beat the minnows with a helping hand from their goalkeeper and new defensive recruit
Manchester United survived an early scare to beat Southampton 3-0 as Erik ten Hag was leant a helping hand from his former Ajax charges Andre Onana and Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford ended his long goal drought.
United made a rocky start and they feare the worst when Diogo Dalot was twisted inside out by the tricky Tyler Dibling and conceded a penalty. But Onana psyched out Cameron Archer from the spot and saved his follow-up header.
United seized the momentum and two minutes later De Ligt glanced in a Bruno Fernandes cross following a clever short-corner routine. Then Rashford doubled the lead with a curler from outside the area, scoring his first goal in any competition for six months.
Manuel Ugarte made his debut off the bench in a tranquil second half as Ten Hag enjoyed some breathing space after a torrid start to the season. Then Alejandro Garnacho, who almost had his knee snapped by Jack Stephen's savage tackle which saw the Southampton captain sent off, finally got on the scoresheet for the season in added time, turning a comfortable win into a welcome thrashing.
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