EPL

Southampton 0-3 Manchester United: Red Devils halt losing run with emphatic win

By Sports Desk September 14, 2024

Manchester United halted their two-game losing run with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Southampton at St Mary's, with Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho on target.

United emerged from the first international break of 2024-25 14th in the Premier League table following defeats to Brighton and Liverpool, but they got back to winning ways after surviving an early scare on the south coast.

Making his first Premier League start, Tyler Dibling won a penalty for Southampton in the first half, but Andre Onana kept out Cameron Archer's tame kick and the momentum shifted from there.

De Ligt headed in his first United goal just two minutes later, then an excellent Rashford strike, curled into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box, gave them breathing room. 

Garnacho came off the bench to add to Southampton's woes in the second half, with Jack Stephens' wild lunge on the Argentine resulting in him being shown a straight red card with 11 minutes to play.

Garnacho then got himself on the scoresheet six minutes into stoppage time, lashing into the roof of the net after Diogo Dalot found him with a cutback from the byline.

Data Debrief: Rashford back in form

Rashford's dip in form in 2023-24 was a major contributing factor in United finishing a lowly eighth in the Premier League, the forward netting just seven league goals after plundering 17 the previous campaign.

However, he showed supreme confidence for his 41st-minute strike, which gave United a two-goal cushion at a crucial moment.

That effort ended a run of 12 games for United without a goal for Rashford, who had only previously endured two longer droughts for the club – 17-match runs that ended in January 2017 and August 2022.

Three of Rashford's last four Premier League goals have come from outside the penalty area, and since the start of 2022-23, only Eberechi Eze (eight), Phil Foden (seven) and Kevin De Bruyne (six) have scored more such goals in the competition than his five.

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    Marco Silva conceded Fulham "cannot switch off for one second" in the Premier League, after Danny Ings' last-gasp equaliser denied the Cottagers all three points against West Ham.

    The hosts appeared on course to take the spoils in the London derby at Craven Cottage, where Raul Jimenez put them in front after 24 minutes.

    However, the visitors snatched a dramatic equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when substitute Ings fired past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

    And Silva acknowledged his side's brief lapse in concentration proved costly.

    "It just shows that in this Premier League, you cannot switch off for one second," he told BBC Sport. "We are aware of the quick throws, and we have to keep focus and concentration.

    "A big frustration for us because, before that, it was a good performance. It was clear we were the best team on the pitch. They did not have one shot [on target] in the first half.

    "We should have won this game. It was not a game where West Ham pushed us back. The goal came after we switched off. It just shows you have to keep focus until the last second."

    Silva also felt Fulham should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Adama Traore was challenged by Max Kilman.

    "It was a clear, clear, penalty in my opinion," he added. "It's difficult to understand why it was not a penalty in that situation. I don't even want to say anything more about it."

    Meanwhile, West Ham boss paid tribute to Ings, who was making only his second Premier League appearance of the season - with both coming as a late substitute.

    "It was a very 'Danny Ings' goal!", Lopetegui told West Ham's official website. "He is always agile in those kinds of actions, and he took his chance very well.

    "I'm really happy for him, because he hasn't played much up until now, but he is always ready to go. He is a really good example to all of his team-mates, and it's great to see his work pay off.

    "As a player, it can be hard when you don't know when the coach is going to call you. The important thing is to try and always be ready, because you are going to be needed at some point.

    "Scoring in the last minute today is important, because he's shown everyone that you have to believe until the end. Even though there were things we could do better today, we kept going, and we got something out of the game."

  • Liverpool 'not good enough' in Forest defeat, says furious Slot Liverpool 'not good enough' in Forest defeat, says furious Slot

    Arne Slot slammed Liverpool's performance after their perfect start to his reign came crashing to a halt with Saturday's surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.

    Callum Hudson-Odoi's deflected second-half strike proved decisive as Forest earned their first league victory at Anfield in 55 years, having last triumphed on the ground against Bill Shankly's Reds in 1969.

    Liverpool's 14 shots throughout the game gave them a total expected goals (xG) figure of just 0.87, with only five of those attempts forcing Matz Sels into action.

    The Reds boasted a 69.6% possession share but only marginally beat Forest's 56 final-third entries with 70 of their own, leaving Slot to bemoan their lethargic play in possession.

    "The result frustrates me the most and we cannot be happy about how the game went. It was a stop-start game and we hardly created any chances," Slot told BBC Sport.

    "We only have to look at ourselves, we have to be better. Far too many times we lost the ball around the area, it was not good enough. We have to be better with the ball.

    "Our decisions and execution weren't good enough. 

    "In general, we defended quite well but the two fast players came on and made it difficult for us. We took a lot of risks and in the end it was a very good goal."

    Liverpool have now lost two of their last five Premier League matches at Anfield (three wins), having only lost one of their previous 58 before this run.

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    Boss Nuno Espirito Santo was delighted with their defensive work, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "Liverpool are such a good team, it required a lot of effort from the players... the organisation, tackling and the covering.

    "The only way to achieve anything here is if you are organised and do everything that you can.

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    "We are working hard and it is about building and believing in this idea that you can develop."

  • Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest: Hudson-Odoi provides reality check for Slot Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest: Hudson-Odoi provides reality check for Slot

    Callum Hudson-Odoi's goal gave Nottingham Forest their first league victory at Anfield in 55 years and ended Liverpool's perfect start to life under Arne Slot on Saturday.

    Substitute Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal of the game after 72 minutes, capping a lightning Forest counterattack with a curling strike that deflected in off Ibrahima Konate.

    Liverpool had earlier gone close through Luis Diaz as he struck the base of the post in the first half, but they struggled to pose Nuno Espirito Santo's men too many problems in a flat display.

    The defeat, which comes after impressive shutout victories over Ipswich Town, Brentford and Manchester United, means Liverpool have lost early ground on Manchester City, who now boast a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

    Forest, meanwhile, remain unbeaten in 2024/25 and move up into fourth place with eight points, just one behind Saturday's opponents, who stay second.

    Luis Diaz had the first real chance of the match when he rattled the post after 16 minutes, dispossessing Ryan Yates at the byline before cutting inside from the left and seeing his shot bounce clear off the woodwork.

    Matz Sels almost caused Forest's undoing just before half-time as he spilled Diaz's looping header, but it was his team-mate Hudson-Odoi who got the eventual winner. 

    Cutting inside from the left, he bent an effort towards the far corner, with a deflection off Konate carrying it out of Alisson's reach to condemn Liverpool to defeat.

    Data Debrief: Forest end Anfield hoodoo

    It is the first time Nottingham Forest have won away at Liverpool in the league since winning 2-0 against Bill Shankly's side in 1969.

    It is also the first time Forest manager Nuno has achieved Premier League victory against Liverpool, having lost his previous seven meetings with them.

    Since the start of last season, meanwhile, winning goalscorer Hudson-Odoi (four) is third only to Phil Foden (six) and Eberechi Eze (five) for goals scored from outside the box in the top flight. 

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