Marcus Rashford relief spotted as Bruno Fernandes pays price in Man Utd win vs Southampton | Football | Sport

Manchester United survived a period of early pressure to claim three deserved points away from home against Southampton.

Matthijs de Ligt scored his first goal for the Red Devils before Marcus Rashford found the net shortly afterwards, giving United a comfortable lead at the break. Alejandro Garnacho put the cherry on the cake in the dying seconds, smashing home from close range to wrap up a comfortable victory.

United initially made a slow start to proceedings with Southampton feeding off the energy of the buoyant home crowd. They had the chance to edge ahead from the penalty spot inside 30 minutes but United’s blushes were spared by Andre Onana.

Moments later, the visitors bagged two goals in quick succession as they gained full control of the match. In the second half, Southampton defender Jack Stephens was given his marching orders for a reckless challenge on Garnacho before the United man got in on the act himself.

The result saw United issue the perfect response to their painful defeat to Liverpool before the international break, although there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Express Sport takes a look at the biggest talking points from today’s game…

Marcus Rashford breaks six-month duck

Rashford was clearly a relieved man after finally ending his six-month goal drought before the break. The England international placed a sweetly-struck shot into the bottom corner from outside the box, marking his first goal for United since March.

Erik ten Hag has stuck with Rashford in spite of his patchy form, with the 26-year-old repaying his manager’s faith by giving United a two-goal cushion. TNT Sports commentator Joe Cole noted that he was playing with more freedom after scoring, which was clear to see.

Rashford also said before the match that he would be dedicating his next goal to a young fan in a public promise. Earlier this week, a boy named Grayson sent Rashford a video showing him the United merchandise adorning his football-themed bedroom.

Rashford publicly commended Grayson on Instagram, saying: “The next goal that I score is dedicated to you.” Grayson would certainly have been delighted to see his United hero break his barren spell in style against Southampton.

Bruno Fernandes made to pay

Bruno Fernandes was made to pay the price for committing the same offence which saw Declan Rice sent off for Arsenal earlier this month. Rice was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away from Brighton defender Joel Veltman as he prepared to take a free-kick.

The decision raised questions over the uniformity of refereeing in the Premier League, with Joao Pedro going unpunished after a similar incident earlier in the match. However, there were no such inconsistencies during United’s win over Southampton.

Fernandes, like Rice, was booked for kicking the ball away in the second half with officials seemingly making an effort to apply the rules in a similar way across the board.

Andre Onana saves United’s blushes

Onana was the unlikely hero for United, with his penalty save giving the visitors the platform to take control of the match. A clumsy challenge from Diogo Dalot on the half hour mark saw Tyler Dibling hit the deck, with Stuart Attwell wasting no time in pointing to the spot.

Cameron Archer’s tame effort was easily saved by Onana, who also managed to prevent the follow-up from finding its way over the line. It was a huge let-off for the Red Devils, with Archer completely overthinking his penalty after waiting 51 seconds to shoot.

United opened the scoring just minutes later with De Ligt diverting a header past the flailing arms of Aaron Ramsdale. However, it was Onana’s penalty save which gave his team-mates the kick up the backside they so desperately needed.

Pressure remains on Erik ten Hag

United’s under-fire manager will have been happy with his side’s overall display in spite of their slow start to the match. However, the result will have done little to ease the pressure mounting on the Dutchman with his future still under intense scrutiny.

The Red Devils were the firm favourites to beat Southampton, who went into the match looking for their first point of the season. Anything less than victory would have been viewed as an abject failure, with United meeting expectations but not really exceeding them.

Their upcoming games against Crystal Palace, Twente and Aston Villa will represent truer tests of Ten Hag’s credentials to lead the club forward on a long-term basis. For now, at least, the jury is still out.