Fernandes' finish gives United win at St Mary's

Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United won their second game under Erik ten Hag away to Southampton.

Ten Hag named an unchanged XI from the team that won at home to Liverpool on Monday night and the Red Devils had several good chances to open the scoring in the first half – all during one mighty goalmouth scramble. 

A Diogo Dalot cross found Fernandes, whose header was blocked by Kyle Walker-Peters. Anthony Elanga was onto it first but his effort was stopped by Gavin Bazunu. The ball only found Christian Eriksen after that but again Southampton got a body in the way, only this time it was Armel Bella-Kotchap.

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However, it was United who opened the scoring ten minutes after the break. Dalot found space on the right and sent in a hard, low cross that Fernandes did well to guide into the corner of the goal.

The home fans were adamant that they should have had a penalty just a few minutes later. Scott McTominay appeared to handle the ball as he challenged Che Adams. The ball certainly touched the Scottish international’s hand on more than one occasion, but the midfielder may have been saved for how close he and Adams were as the ball bounced between the two players. 

Southampton kept plugging away at Manchester United and had much of the ball for the remainder of the second half. However, the Saints lacked an extra spark to carve a real opportunity, only Joe Aribo had a big chance when his header from close range was palmed away by David de Gea.

The result is a relief for Manchester United, who ended a seven-game losing streak away from home. The centre-back pairing of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martínez looked solid for United once again and fans got to see a brief glimpse of new signing Casemiro.

Ralph Hasenhüttl will be disappointed that his side couldn’t claim a point their performance deserved. The likes of Mohammed Salisu, Roméo Lavia, and Armel Bella-Kotchap all impressed.

It doesn’t get much easier for Southampton as they take on Chelsea on Tuesday at St Mary’s, meanwhile Manchester United travel to Leicester City on Thursday.

37 - Only Mohamed Salah (54), Harry Kane (49) and Son Heung-Min (45) have scored more Premier League goals than Bruno Fernandes (37) since his debut in February 2020. Breakthrough. pic.twitter.com/twGqEjTRvA

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 27, 2022