Manchester United was said to be a toxic place for much of last season, with reports of a fractured dressing room, players leaking information to the press and results generally poor.
With that in mind, it's already clear to see the influence Erik ten Hag has had since taking over in pre-season, and Saturday's ultimately dramatic 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge showcased that in a variety of ways.
But chief among them was the demonstrably improved spirit that has taken over United. While there have been signs of it throughout the early months of the season, with the atmosphere and relationship between players on the pitch clearly far better, Casemiro's equaliser showed it in terms we all understand: a crucial late Manchester United goal.
However, many will argue they shouldn't have even found themselves in such a position in the first place, with United struggling to make the most of their earlier dominance.
Of course, that highlighted the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, which was confirmed as early as Thursday, with Ten Hag excluding him from the squad as a consequence of refusing to come on against Tottenham and then walking down the tunnel before kick-off.
As much as it was just the latest example of Ronaldo's relationship with the club souring, Ten Hag's decisiveness in his punishment was another show of strong leadership and principles.
Some United fans will say it was an easy decision to make, simply for the fact Ronaldo's routinely resembled a square peg in a round hole this season. Whether it's down to the system he's playing in, his own professionalism or fitness, we can only speculate, but it's difficult to say they've missed him when he's not played.
In fact, prior to Saturday, United had a 75 per cent win rate without Ronaldo starting (eight matches) this season compared to 50 per cent (six matches) with him in the line-up. Similarly, they average more goals (1.9, up from 1.0) without him in the starting XI even though their shots per game count is higher when he features from the beginning (19.2, compared to 14.6).
What makes that even more damning is four of Ronaldo's starts have been in the Europa League against the likes of Omonia Nicosia and Sheriff. Essentially, United register more shots but are less effective despite poorer opposition, which backs up concerns relating to his lack of cohesion with the rest of the team.
Watching United dominate much of the first half at Stamford Bridge, Ronaldo would've been far from the minds of most supporters initially.
Ten Hag's men were exceptional at times in the opening period, with the composure brought by Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in midfield helping United regularly slice through the Chelsea lines. Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were constantly overrun.
It got to the point where Graham Potter was forced into an early switch. With roughly 10 minutes still left of the first half, Marc Cucurella was withdrawn for Mateo Kovacic as Chelsea sought to even up the midfield battle.
The change worked to an extent, with Chelsea almost instantly a greater attacking threat, though it was still United creating the genuine chances: Marcus Rashford was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga – having also been thwarted in an earlier one-on-one – and Antony sliced a gilt-edged opportunity wide on the stroke of half-time.
Despite the obvious concerns around his wider impact on the team, Ronaldo's slim chance of having an influence on United again this season was probably best summed up by Rashford's opportunities, especially the first.
Who's to say if Ronaldo would have converted past Kepa, but undoubtedly it was an opening he'd have expected himself to take.
A lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has been a recurring theme through Rashford's United career, and with the oft-crocked Anthony Martial seemingly unable to be relied upon, it's easy to see Ronaldo still getting picked.
Chances largely dried up after the interval at Stamford Bridge, particularly for United, with Ten Hag's introduction of Fred in an attempt to restore midfield superiority leading to a much cagier affair.
Chelsea did improve – they probably couldn't have been more ineffective, to be fair – and gave the Red Devils' defence a bit more to do, with their best opening seeing Trevoh Chalobah head against the crossbar late on.
Then a moment of madness from Scott McTominay seemingly gifted Chelsea the win. He pulled Armando Broja to the ground at a corner and a penalty was unsurprisingly awarded, with Jorginho – as he usually does – coolly sweeping home from the spot.
That looked decisive, yet United salvaged a point right at the death, Casemiro's brilliant header just about crossing the line as Kepa's fingertips failed to keep it out.
But even though United rescued the point, there was still a sense of them ruing what might have been when dominant in the first half.
That lack of ruthlessness could be Ronaldo's lifeline.
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feels 'surreal', says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feel surreal, says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
Gravenberch ready to show off Liverpool form ‘to the world’, says Gakpo
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo expressed his pride in seeing compatriot Ryan Gravenberch show off his qualities ‘to the whole world’ after a fine start to the Premier League season.
Though the Netherlands pair did not become teammates at Liverpool until late summer of 2023, Gakpo knew well Gravenberch’s talents from their respective Eredivisie spells with PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.
Now in his second season at Anfield, Gravenberch has drawn widespread plaudits for his form in a new deeper-lying midfield role under new head coach Arne Slot, having largely been used as a substitute under Jurgen Klopp.
Gravenberch is the only midfielder in Europe's big-five leagues to both make 30+ tackles (30) and 30+ interceptions (33) in all competitions this season, and Gakpo insisted that his Netherlands team-mate can continue to go from strength to strength, starting against Southampton this Sunday.
“We [the Dutchmen at Liverpool] knew Ryan already from the Eredivisie when he played at Ajax, and I think everybody knew already that he is this good,” Gakpo recently told Men in Blazers.
“After that, he made a move to Bayern Munich, and maybe he didn’t play that much over there, but still everybody in Holland knew how good he could be when he was playing.
“And I think maybe the manager [Slot] also knew this. At the beginning of the season, he put him in a slightly different position, but he gave him the confidence to play there.
“Ryan showed his quality in that position, grabbed his chance as well and turned out to be a good match. He is playing outstandingly for us this season.
“I’m very happy that we can see Ryan, as we Dutchmen already knew, but now he can show it to the whole world. I’m very proud of him.”
Southampton, meanwhile, welcome the Reds to St. Mary’s on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Wolves ahead of the international break, leaving them bottom of the table after 11 games of the season.
The Saints are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season (seven), while only Crystal Palace (5.1%) have a lower shot conversion rate than Russell Martin’s side (6.2%). Just 30.1% of Southampton’s shots have been on target this term (34/113), a league-low ratio.
However, the Southampton head coach is relishing the opportunity of facing Liverpool, with his players performing well against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City already this term.
"I'm really excited about Sunday. We're playing the best team in the country at the moment, on their current form and what they have been doing with their manager, built on an incredible foundation from the previous manager, so I'm really looking forward to it,” Martin said.
"I think we showed the guys the Premier League table last season and how much it changed by the end and by the end of December. But it's honestly such an exciting month.
"People talk about the difficulty of the game and every competition we face in the next four or five games, but it's what we all worked so hard for. We should be excited about the challenge.
“I think teams have shown in the last few weeks that you can pick up big results against big teams, good opposition, and we are going to have to. Our level of performance against teams at the top end of the table has been good on the whole."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Mateus Fernandes
Fernandes has become a mainstay in the Southampton team, starting the last eight Premier League games in a row, and has been one of Martin’s standout performers in a lacklustre start to the campaign.
In the Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Wolves last time out, the Portuguese contributed a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 0.22 from his three shots, while only Yukinari Sugawara (10) and Flynn Downes (12) have created more chances in the top-flight than Fernandes (eight) this season.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah has both scored and assisted in the same match 35 times in the Premier League (including four already this term), just one shy of Wayne Rooney’s record of 36 games with both a goal and an assist in the competition. The Egyptian has been directly involved in 11 goals (seven goals, four assists) in 11 Premier League appearances against Southampton.
He has also been directly involved in 67% of Liverpool’s Premier League goals this season (14/21 – eight goals, six assists), the highest ratio by a player for any side in the division in 2024-25. Indeed, only Matt Le Tissier for Southampton in 1993-94 (69% - 34/49) has scored or assisted a higher proportion of a side’s goals in a single season in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool have won nine of their 11 Premier League games under new head coach Slot (D1 L1). A win over Southampton will see the Dutchman become the joint-fastest manager to reach 10 wins from the start of a Premier League career (12 games), alongside Guus Hiddink in May 2009 and Carlo Ancelotti in November 2009 (both with Chelsea).
The Reds’ last Premier League game against the Saints was a 4-4 away draw in May 2023 – they conceded as many goals in that game as they had in their previous six visits to St Mary’s combined.
Southampton have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool (D3 L10), a 1-0 home victory in January 2021.
This will also be the first Premier League match between the side starting the day bottom of the table and the side starting the day top since April 2023, and Southampton’s 3-3 draw away to Arsenal. The league leaders are unbeaten in 14 such matches (W12 D2) since Wolves won 2-1 against Manchester United in February 2011.
However, Southampton have only lost one of their last eight Premier League home games against sides starting the day at the summit (W2 D5) and are unbeaten in their last four (W2 D2 – including a 1-0 win over Liverpool in January 2021) since a 0-1 defeat to Man City in May 2018.
But Martin’s side have lost nine of their 11 Premier League games this season (W1 D1). Only seven sides in English top-flight history have reached 10 defeats in 12 or fewer matches from the start of a campaign, with all seven going on to be relegated.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 9.7%
Draw – 12.6%
Liverpool – 77.7%
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