Southampton vs Manchester United player ratings: Stuart Armstrong impresses as United defence struggle

A look at how the players performed in the 2-2 draw

Saturday 01 December 2018 20:16

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Southampton 2018/19 Premier League profile

Ander Herrera completed a first half comeback for Manchester United after Southampton took an early 2-0 lead and failed to take advantage of a sub-par performance by Jose Mourinho’s side.

Stuart Armstrong continued his fine run of form to open the scoring and Cedric Soares doubled their lead with 20 minutes on the clock to mark a fine start in a must-win match for under-pressure manager Mark Hughes.

Romelu Lukaku hit back for Mourinho’s side and Herrera completed the job with five minutes to spare before the interval. Check out how we rated the players in the gallery below:

Southampton vs Manchester United player ratings

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1/22Southampton vs Manchester United player ratings

Could do nothing about Lukaku’s goal but could have done more to stop the second goal. Otherwise had little to do against a poor Man Utd side.

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Was good at clearing the ball when it came into the box from the wings but Rashford got the ball past him to find Lukaku for United’s first goal.

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Worked hard in defence to shut down Man Utd’s attacks before they could fully materialise. He had a good game.

Action Images via Reuters

Made some good blocks in defence and closed down Lukaku well limiting his chances on goal.

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Covered the back line well and closed down Luke Shaw when he bombed down the left wing.

AP

Provided a commanding presence for Southampton in mid-field throwing himself into challenges with strength and determination.

AP

Challenged for the ball forcefully and caused problems for United’s defence with pace and skill.

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His free kick gave Southampton a two-goal advantage in the first half and left De Gea with no chance to save it. It was a great strike.

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Caused Matic problems with bursts of pace and skill. He ran the ball in from the right to lead up to the first goal.

AP

Combined with Armstrong for opening goal after holding it up in the box and laying it off with precision.

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Scored the opener with a quality finish from the right-hand side of the box.

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Couldn’t stop either of the goals as the finishes were that good.

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Offered United pace and skill on the right wing and caused problems by getting the ball into the box.

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Became more active in the second half and defended well. He also ran the ball forward to inject some pace into a slow-paced game.

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As the only centre-back in United’s team he needed to do better. It was poor defending from him for Southampton’s first goal as he left his position and didn’t make the challenge.

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Was asked to do a lot of defending and is too slow to make the tackles. Redmond made him look silly.

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Worked hard on the overlap down the left to give United someone to aim for up front and did his bit when defending.

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Had a quiet game and didn’t make as big of an impact as he did mid-week.

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Followed the ball allowing Southampton to get into the box for the opener but made a good run into the box to score the equaliser for United.

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Was sloppy and skilful in equal measure. Had moments of brilliance and moments to forget, he gave a so-so performance.

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Broke his rut with a powerful finish from inside the box but still looks to be missing that killer edge to his play.

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United’s best player. He gave away the free kick that led to Southampton’s second goal which probably spurred him on as he ran at the defenders, was strong on the ball and set up both first half goals to get United back into the game.

REUTERS

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