x

Southampton V Manchester United The Verdict

Saints continued their unbeaten run at Old Trafford and came from behind to earn a well deserved point in a game that saw them have to work hard against a United side with plenty of talent but lacking work ethic.

Ralph Hasenhuttl kept an unchanged team from the great win at Spurs on Wednesday, but Tino Livramento did come back into the squad and was named on the bench.

United are in the middle of a crisis, but for them that means being 5th in the league and worrying about not being in the Champions League, they still have plenty of talent, but the chink in their armour is that although they love to showboat they don't like to role up their sleeves and graft.

In the early exchanges they could have scored earlier than the 21st minute in which they did open their account, put bluntly we lacked organisation and on several occasions we piled forward but left ourselves open at the back and only some desperate defending and good fortune meant that they didn't score.

But on 21 minutes we ran out of luck, once again an early ball caught us short at the back as they broke quickly, crossed and Sancho slotted home from close range, at this point things didn't look good.

But as at Spurs we dug in and got a foothold in the game, we created chances and looked good going forward, but at the back we were in a bit of disarray.

For some reason Oriol Romeu appeared to be playing in the centre of a back three with Jan Bednarek & Mohammed Salisu with both Romain Perraud & KWP wing backs, but although we looked good going forward we kept getting caught.

At half time a change was made, off went Bednarek and on came Jack Stephens and we reverted to 4 at the back with Romeu restored to the midfield, it paid dividends almost immediately, Che Adams was played through and slotted home with a clinical finish to send the Saints fans behind the goal ecstatic.

But in truth the marking at the back was still terrible and we had to rely on the linesman, VAR, Fraser Forster and some dogged defending to make sure that we stayed on level terms, we had our chances, but so did United and Forster was probably the man of the match for a string of good saves.

But it was still a good performance from Saints for the way we stuck with it, Ralph made substitutions at the right time and we kept our shape, we could have won it ourselves, but make no bones about it, Fraser Forster was the busier of the two keepers.

Saints will feel miffed that United finished the game with 10 men, Pogba argued with the ref after receiving a yellow card and from the way he was haranguing the ref should have had another, a punch was thrown at James Ward Prowse, yet the offender stayed on the pitch and then Harry Maguire appeared to firstly push Armando Broja over in the penalty area and then stamp on the players leg, yet the referee and seemingly VAR saw nothing in it.

Then there was the bizarre offside decision that took minutes to decide, yet the footage showed 5 United players all off side and not even being close to being on, God knows what they were thinking.

Sometimes you have to have a bit of luck though, we deserved it for the way we battled and kept going, but it was a day things went for us, on another day they won't.

Some great performances, Fraser Forster was my man of the match, he looked back to his best and made some top draw saves, in the outfield Armando Broja gets all the headlines, but his 6 goals are matched by Che Adams half dozen scored in less games, Adams has always been the unsung hero, but he is a quality striker and looks set to hit double figures this season.

This side has spirit, it is getting better all the time, it is still missing something, but hopefully that will be addressed in the summer, in the meantime we just need to enjoy watching a team that is blossoming and playing some good football and you never know what might happen, let's just enjoy the ride.

This verdict seems a little harsh, those at the game certainly felt that the team had put in a good performance and they were right, but we are still a work in progress and need to learn from each and every game.

A few short months ago some were calling for the head of Ralph Hasenhuttl and tipping us for relegation, that has changed, now everyone is starting to see what we are trying achieve and as the club's official twitter account said "Well it went a little bit better than last year"

What to read next:

May the 4th not with us as we finish the regular season with a tepid defeat
If we were ever going to have a final day miracle we needed a much better performance than this final day showing against Southampton, so now we have to endure the agony of the play-offs yet again.
Leeds United 1 - 2 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Leeds heading for the play-offs after shocker at QPR
Just when we thought we’d turned the corner with that win at Boro, we slipped back into the desperate form of the post-international break period, losing heavily to Queens Park Rangers in this critical game.
Queens Park Rangers 4 - 0 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
QPR Awaydaze
Our trip to Queens Park Rangers is at 8pm on Friday, thanks once again to our very good friends at Sky Sports. We’re not famous any more!
Crisis, what Crisis?
As Mark Twain might have said, rumours of the death of our promotion hopes have been greatly exaggerated. Last night’s win at Middlesbrough was a hard watch towards the end, but the vital three points has got our campaign back on track.
Middlesbrough 3 - 4 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Middlesbrough Awaydaze
Our visit to Middlesbrough kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night, once again thanks to our very good friends at Sky TV. We’re not famous any more!
Leeds promotion hopes damaged by first home defeat of the season
Once again the chance to go back to the top of the table was handed to us on a plate, but we dropped the plate. This week’s frustration-fest was at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.
Leeds United 0 - 1 Blackburn Rovers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.