Erik ten Hag believes Andre Onana's penalty save was the "turning point" as Manchester United got back to winning ways with a commanding 3-0 victory over 10-man Southampton.
The Red Devils arrived at St Mary's on a two-match losing streak and almost fell behind in the 33rd minute, but Onana guessed correctly to keep out Cameron Archer's tame spot-kick.
The visitors capitalised on their reprieve as goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford put them 2-0 up at half-time, before Alejandro Garnacho wrapped up the points later on.
Ten Hag was pleased with his team's response and also saluted Rashford, who netted his first goal since March.
"The start was not easy," the United boss told BBC Match of the Day.
"I think the penalty was the turning point in the game and, not so far after, we scored and that was very important. From that moment on, the game was all ours."
On Rashford's goal, he added: "It's very important. We spoke before the game. It is huge for him, for every striker.
"When the season starts, you want to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first, I'm sure more will come."
Onana was also pleased to see Rashford back on the scoresheet.
"We had a tough season last year, and he was not at his best," he told TNT Sports. "But today, he showed he's a great player - one of the best in the world.
"That's football, that's life. It's now how you fall, it's about how many times you stand up again. I'm really happy for him. Hopefully, he will score many more for the team.
On bouncing back with a win, he added: "Every game when you lose is like it's the end of the world. You have to stay strong, stay together and keep fighting.
"It was very good to save that penalty. It was an important moment for us.
"The most important thing for us is victory. We had a great game and a clean sheet. Hopefully, we will continue playing like this."
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.
Ronald Koeman revealed that Matthijs de Ligt's substitution was made to protect him during the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Germany in the Nations League.
Tijjani Reijnders had given the Netherlands the lead in the second minute, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to hand the visitors the advantage at the break.
For Germany's equaliser, Manchester United defender De Ligt saw his pass under no pressure intercepted by Jamal Musiala, resulting in Undav levelling the scores.
Koeman had previously addressed De Ligt's errors during the Netherlands' 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last week and had to do so once again on Tuesday.
"Of course, I would rather have kept Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch. It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished," said Koeman.
"I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off."
However, Liverpool captain and defensive partner Virgil van Dijk was more blunt in his assessment, saying the punishment is bound to follow against the top sides.
"This is football. You have to learn from this," Van Dijk said. "It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it."
But at the top end of the pitch, Koeman was impressed with the performance of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, who was given the chance to shine in place of the absent Memphis Depay.
Brobbey, who made only his second start for his country against Germany, proved a handful for the visitors' defence, notching the assist for Denzel Dumfries' equaliser, with his five touches in the opposition box a total only bettered by Cody Gakpo (seven).
The Dutchman's display forced Julian Nagelsmann into making a defensive substitution of his own at the break, replacing Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah for Borussia Dortmund new boy Waldemar Anton.
"Tah was not substituted for nothing," said Koeman. "He pulled Brobbey’s shirt five times and committed a foul each time. Brobbey held him off very well.
"The second goal also came from Brobbey. I am super satisfied with him. He got his chance, and it was great that he took it like that.
"I am glad I chose him. He is fast and strong."
There was cause for concern, however, for Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, who pulled up off the ball on the stroke of half-time and was replaced by Jurrien Timber.
Ake left the field on a stretcher and was visibly upset, with Koeman able to provide a brief update on the injury.
"It looks like a muscle injury for Nathan, though I am not certain," Koeman said.
Ronald Koeman said there is still a place in the Netherlands team for Memphis Depay after reportedly agreeing a deal with Brazilian giants, Corinthians.
Depay, who has 98 appearances for his country since his debut in 2013, was not picked for the Oranje's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany this month.
The 30-year-old started all six of the Netherlands' fixtures at Euro 2024, scoring against Austria and notching an assist in their quarter-final win over Turkiye.
He struggled with injuries during his final season at Atletico Madrid, missing 18 games in all competitions, but still managed nine goals in 31 appearances.
But Koeman's comments come after denouncing the move of Steven Bergwijn to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, saying his decision to move to the Middle East had closed the book on his international career.
“I disapproved Bergwijn to Saudi, with Memphis it can be different," Koeman said.
"The level of the league in Brazil is different, so yes, he can still be part of the national team, but it depends on his fitness and if he reaches his level.”
Koeman's side will be hoping to maintain their winning start to their Nations League campaign against Germany in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
The Netherlands put five past Bosnia last week, with Joshua Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons all on target.
Despite registering 28 shots, with nine of those on target, along with an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, two lapses in concentration from Matthijs de Ligt were punished by Bosnia.
Ermedin Demirovic capitalised on some poor positioning by the Manchester United defender, who was then caught ball-watching as veteran Edin Dzeko capitalised.
But Koeman again jumped to the defence of the 25-year-old, confirming that De Ligt would be starting against Germany.
"We have discussed it," Koeman said. "He did not get his footwork right. It was a bad individual moment for a defender.
"You have to learn from that, it is clear that these kinds of moments need to be improved. But we should not be dramatic about it and put too much emphasis on it."
Matthijs de Ligt has dismissed suggestions that Erik ten Hag was the deciding factor in his transfer to Manchester United.
The Dutchman, along with Noussair Mazraoui, joined the Red Devils in a double signing worth up to £60million from Bayern Munich in August.
De Ligt's breakthrough, however, came at Ajax under Ten Hag, with the manager making him the youngest-ever captain in the club's history during that time.
The following season, Ajax reached their first Champions League semi-final since 1997 and won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup double before De Ligt left the club to join Juventus.
Ten Hag has often been criticised for targeting his former players during the transfer windows while at United, with De Ligt falling into that category.
However, the defender stressed a reunion with his former head coach was not what drew him to the Premier League.
"I'm already settled in Manchester and enjoying myself. The boys are great, everything was handled perfectly. There's also many Dutch guys on the staff", he told Dutch outlet Vandaag Inside, via Manchester Evening News.
"Erik ten Hag is not the only reason I joined United. We're talking about Manchester United here, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"There's lots of pressure because the fans are used to things from the past. It's up to us to be as good as possible."
The 25-year-old has played just 89 minutes in the Premier League since joining United, getting his first start in their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out, making just one interception and one tackle.
De Ligt was in the Netherlands' squad for Euro 2024, as the Oranje reached the semi-final, however, he did not play a single minute at the tournament.
Back in the fold for their first two Nations League matches, two lapses in concentration from De Ligt were punished against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Netherlands' 5-2 victory.
Vincent Kompany wants open and honest communication in his dealings with players at Bayern Munich.
Kompany, who will take charge of his first Bundesliga game when Bayern take on Wolfsburg on Sunday, succeeded Thomas Tuchel after a disappointing third-place finish last season.
The former Burnley boss has already been praised by several squad members, including experienced goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, for his communication skills.
"To state your opinion clearly doesn't mean that you say it in a personal way," Kompany told reporters.
"I think it's important to adapt how you communicate to the player that you're facing; everyone's different.
"You have different generations, different coaches, different ages, everything comes into play but in the end I think players appreciate if they get the message that you have in mind."
Leon Goretzka is one player who has been told that he faces a lot of competition in midfield this season, but he seems determined to stick around and fight for his place, and Kompany said such directness must be the club's policy.
"We as a club have the role to be honest with the players because then we're going to earn respect, even though sometimes it might not be positive news," Kompany said.
"All I can say is that I haven't had one single player who was not showing complete intensity, and they were all trying to really reach the maximum, and Leon was one of those players."
One player who has left the club is Matthijs de Ligt, who joined Manchester United, and Kompany was quick to deny media reports that he had told the player that he was his number one defender.
"I didn't say that because that would be completely stupid for me to say something like this," he said.
"It also wouldn't fit into what we are planning as a club with the squad, to have two players for every position and to have competition for places."
Matthijs de Ligt believes his relationship with Noussair Mazraoui will benefit Manchester United's defence this season.
De Ligt and Mazraoui joined United in a double signing worth up to £60million from Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
The two defenders were also together at Ajax, where they played under Erik ten Hag before being reunited in Germany.
The manager confirmed on Thursday that both players would be in the squad for the Red Devils' Premier League opener against Fulham on Friday, and De Ligt is looking forward to developing their partnership further.
"What can I tell you about Nous? He is an amazing guy, an amazing player," De Ligt said in an interview with the club's media channels.
"I've known him already for a long time, I think around 10 years now. There's a reason we always come together, like before in Ajax, then at Bayern Munich, now at Manchester United.
"I think it is a special relationship, and I'm really happy and glad that he's also going to be here, and I think we can help each other a lot."
United struggled with injuries last season, particularly among their defenders, as they fielded 14 different centre-back pairings throughout the campaign.
The club confirmed on Tuesday that Luke Shaw will miss the start of the new season with a calf injury, which Ten Hag has described as "short-term".
Leny Yoro, who is set to be out for three months, also joined earlier in the transfer window, while Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka both went in the opposite direction.
And the current overhaul is part of what drew the 25-year-old to the club.
"I actually really like the project," he added. "It's always nice to go somewhere and to feel that you're part of a new project, to feel that you're part of something new.
"Hopefully, myself and the other players that are coming this summer can give a great piece to the next history of Manchester United and to get the club back to where it belongs: on top."
Manchester United have bolstered their defence with the arrival of Matthijs De Ligt from Bayern Munich, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The defender is reunited with former manager Erik ten Hag, signing a five-year contract with the Red Devils in a deal reportedly worth around £42million.
De Ligt made 73 appearances in all competitions in two years at the Bundesliga giants, scoring five goals in that time.
He finished the season strongly, but struggled with injuries at the start, with his absence keenly felt in the league as Bayern conceded an average of 1.8 goals without him in the starting line-up compared to 1.1 with him.
De Ligt was a key figure at Ajax during Ten Hag's tenure and was made the youngest-ever captain in the club's history during that time.
The defender posted an emotional letter to Bayern supporters on social media after ending his stay with the Bundesliga side.
It read: "Dear Bayern fans, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your love and support. I have spent two amazing years playing for this beautiful club.
"It has been a true honour to have played for a club like Bayern Munich. We have achieved unforgettable moments together. Winning the title as well as several amazing CL- nights. These memories will stay with me forever.
"This is why leaving this club feels bittersweet. I will always remember the love and support I have received from the players, the staff members and from the fans.
"The recent petition signed by so many of you has touched me deeply. Thank you all for the two amazing years. I wish FC Bayern good luck winning many more titles, like Bayern has always done. Mia San Mia.”
Manchester United have bolstered their defence with the arrival of Matthijs De Ligt from Bayern Munich, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The defender is reunited with former manager Erik ten Hag, signing a five-year contract with the Red Devils in a deal reportedly worth around £42million.
De Ligt made 73 appearances in all competitions in two years at the Bundesliga giants, scoring five goals in that time.
He finished the season strongly, but struggled with injuries at the start, with his absence keenly felt in the league as Bayern conceded an average of 1.8 goals without him in the starting line-up compared to 1.1 with him.
De Ligt was a key figure at Ajax during Ten Hag's tenure and was made the youngest-ever captain in the club's history during that time.
The defender posted an emotional letter to Bayern supporters on social media after ending his stay with the Bundesliga side.
It read: "Dear Bayern fans, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your love and support. I have spent two amazing years playing for this beautiful club.
"It has been a true honour to have played for a club like Bayern Munich. We have achieved unforgettable moments together. Winning the title as well as several amazing CL- nights. These memories will stay with me forever.
"This is why leaving this club feels bittersweet. I will always remember the love and support I have received from the players, the staff members and from the fans.
"The recent petition signed by so many of you has touched me deeply. Thank you all for the two amazing years. I wish FC Bayern good luck winning many more titles, like Bayern has always done. Mia San Mia.”
Rio Ferdinand remains "uncertain" about Matthijs de Ligt ahead of his reported £42.9million switch from Bayern Munich to Manchester United.
De Ligt, who made 30 appearances in all competitions for Bayern last term, is set to reunite with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford having played under the Dutchman at Ajax.
United are after defensive reinforcements following the departures of Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwala, having just endured a campaign that saw them concede the most goals in a season in their Premier League history (58).
However, Ferdinand, who made 312 appearances across a 12-year stint with the Red Devils, is unsure whether De Ligt's arrival will solve their issues.
"I watched him at Ajax and he was brilliant in that year when Erik ten Hag was the manager, and they got to the semi-final [of the Champions League]," Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
"He was brilliant, commanding, everything you want in a defender.
"He's had a lot of injuries, hasn't started many games over the last two or three years and Man United are spending £45-50million on him.
"Is he going to come into Man United and make a difference? I think it's a big ask for him and all eyes are going to be on him.
"Big pressure, big opportunity for him, but there's a lot of uncertainty I think with this signing because of his previous seasons with two big clubs (Juventus and Bayern Munich) not going as well as we'd have anticipated."
He then added: "I don't think he's the answer, but it's a great opportunity for him to go in there and go, 'You know what guys? I'm going to rectify my last couple of seasons.
"That's not the real me, and I'm going to show you."
Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness believes Matthijs de Ligt could leave this transfer window amid rumours he could be heading to Manchester United.
De Ligt, who played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax, has been linked to a move to Old Trafford after struggling in his first two seasons at Bayern.
No formal agreement between the clubs has been reached, though reports suggest the centre-back has agreed to personal terms.
Ten Hag confirmed the club were interested in signing De Ligt, who would be their second defensive addition if he joins, after they sealed a £52million deal for Leny Yoro last week.
Bayern, meanwhile, have also bolstered their defence in the off-season by bringing in Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart, and Hoeness hinted there was a chance De Ligt could leave the Allianz Arena.
"No more players will come unless two or three players leave first," Hoeness said.
"Max Eberl and Christoph Freund know full well that no one will come unless one or two prominent players leave. The FC Bayern has no money-wasters."
"It is possible that a defender will still leave. De Ligt is Dutch, and the coach at Man Utd is Dutch.
"I would have no problem if he stayed. Personally, I would not sell [Dayot] Upamecano."
De Ligt made just 22 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern last year, starting 16, as the club finished third behind unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen and surprise package Stuttgart.
Erik ten Hag has confirmed Manchester United hold an interest in signing Matthijs de Ligt but has denied pushing for a reunion with the centre-back.
De Ligt, who played under Ten Hag at former club Ajax, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford after struggling in his first two seasons with Bayern Munich.
United sealed a £52million deal for Lille centre-back Leny Yoro this week but could still move for another defender, having had bids rejected for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite.
Speaking to Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld, Ten Hag confirmed De Ligt features on United's shortlist but claimed he was not the first person to suggest him as a target.
"It remains to be seen whether De Ligt will come. I know Matthijs well and I will not deny that," Ten Hag said.
"I wanted to sign him two years ago but at that time, he was already very far along to join Bayern Munich.
"Believe it or not, his name did not come from me in the process."
De Ligt only featured in 22 of Bayern's 34 Bundesliga matches last season, starting 16 times, as they finished third behind unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen and surprise package Stuttgart.
Bayern kept just two clean sheets with De Ligt involved in 2023-24, with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Eric Dier often edging him out for a starting spot.
Day two of Euro 2024 picked up the excitement where it left off, with a historic round of games on Saturday.
Switzerland joined Germany level on points at the top of Group A with an impressive 3-1 win over Hungary before Spain cruised to a 3-0 victory over Croatia in their Group B opener with three first-half goals.
Italy's European Championships title defence got off to a perfect start as they bounced back from conceding the earliest goal in the tournament's history (23 seconds) by beating Albania 2-1.
While the football continued to entertain, there was also plenty of action on social media. Here's a pick of some of the best posts.
What might have been for Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon's official X account drew plenty of attention as the admin latched onto the hype over Jamal Musiala, following the Germany international's magical display against Scotland.
Musiala grew up in England, and represented AFC Wimbledon, via the Corpus Christi Primary School, in the EFL Utilita Kids Cup.
It's clear from the highlights of that match, in which Musiala scored a hat-trick and left defenders mesmerised - a bit like he did on Friday - that he was a special talent.
Embolo back on the scene
Breel Embolo endured an injury-hit campaign for Monaco, but he is back to fitness in time to feature for Switzerland, for whom he remains a crucial player.
And after coming on as a second-half substitute, Embolo sealed the three points as the Swiss beat Hungary 3-1 in the first game of the day.
As the official Euro 2042 X account pointed out, Embolo has now netted in successive Euros tournaments for his nation.
Birthday boy
Pascal Gross is a newcomer to Germany's squad, and came on for his major tournament debut during Friday's 5-1 thrashing of Scotland.
The Brighton midfielder then celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday, with Germany's official X account sharing the celebrations.
That big win over Scotland, and his Euros bow, was surely a great way to welcome in his 34th year.
UEFA turns 70
Gross was not the only one celebrating a birthday on Saturday.
Indeed, UEFA marked the 70th anniversary of its founding, which came on June 15, 1954.
"It's a story of devotion, dedication and dreams..." shared the governing bodies' official X account.
Barcelona show pride of record-breaking youngster
Spain got off to the perfect start in the so-called 'group of death' with a rampant 3-0 win over Croatia on Saturday.
But, when the team sheets came out before the game, all the headlines quickly turned to Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest-ever player to appear at the Euros at 16 years and 338 days.
After an impressive performance by the youngster, Barcelona were quick to remind fans where he came from with a post on X: "He's very good... and he's ours."
Van Dijk, Simons and De Ligt put to the test
The Netherlands are yet to open their campaign in Euro 2024, but put aside their preparation to take some time to answer questions from young fans.
Xavi Simons was quizzed on which defender scares him the most - fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk - while the captain and Matthijs de Ligt rated their chances of winning the tournament.
Final preparations
England open their campaign when they take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, and on Saturday, Gareth Southgate's team ran through their MD-1 training session.
All 26 players were involved in the session, with England allowing their fans to watch on live via a post on X.
Only part of the session was broadcast, however, so any Serbia spies could not garner too much information about Southgate's tactics ahead of the Group C clash.
Matthijs De Ligt believes the Netherlands have every chance of claiming their first international trophy since 1988 at Euro 2024.
De Ligt, who will be featuring in his third major tournament for the Oranje in Germany, did not feature in the final four games of their qualifying campaign through injury.
The 24-year-old endured another stop-start season with Bayern Munich, making 22 appearances in the Bundesliga and was left on the bench as the Netherlands concluded their preparations for the competition against Iceland.
De Ligt has made 45 appearances for his country and is one of the more experienced players within Ronald Koeman's ranks heading into the tournament despite his age.
However, De Ligt is confident that the selected 26-man group has more than enough to deal with the pressures of tournament football.
"It's good that we have a lot of guys at top teams in Europe,” he said ahead of their Group D opener against Poland in Hamburg on Sunday.
“That’s very important for a tournament like this because it means we have the necessary experience playing against top players every three to four days.
"We have a lot of quality across the board. We have to take it game by game but I think we can certainly go far.”
The Netherlands have had to deal with a number of injuries leading up to the tournament, with Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong the latest to withdraw from the squad.
While the Oranje have an array of talent within their group, De Ligt believes not having a standout player could prove to be an advantage heading into their Euro 2024 campaign.
“It means that everyone has their nose on the same starting line and are all pulling in the same direction.
“We have a nice, good group. It's about performance. We are working well on that. We have a group that can grow closer together, on and off the field."
Thomas Tuchel reflects on "tough to accept" defeat after Real Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 and knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semi-final at the Allianz Arena, Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute through Alphonso Davies.
However, Joselu came off the bench to score twice in three minutes to send the LaLiga champions to the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern.
"It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand, it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Tuchel told DAZN after the game.
"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.
"We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years."
In stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and Tuchel was frustrated with how the situation was handled.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: "We are almost through, it's almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
"Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end. There was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch, and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman says sorry, but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this... The referee sees we get the second ball, and we get the shot - it's a very, very bad decision. It's against the rules. It's a disaster. It's hard to swallow, but that's the way it is."
Manuel Neuer made five saves in the game and looked equal to Madrid’s threat until he spilled the ball in the build-up to Joselu’s first goal.
"Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now," he told DAZN.
"That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 88th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
"We’d taken one step to London; we saw ourselves in the final, and now I’m lost for words."
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