Southampton put on an inspired performance in a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday night.
After a poor showing on Boxing Day in a 5-2 loss to Tottenham, Mauricio Pellegrino’s side responded with one of their better matches of the season.
The first half saw a lot of United chances go wide of the mark. In the opening five minutes Romelu Lukaku (who was later stretchered off) missed a free header that quite possibly could have flipped the game script entirely. Marcus Rashford, who came on for Lukaku, also let a chance skim off his head, but some credit needs to go to Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
The second half was wide open, and both teams had legitimate opportunities to win the game. Shane Long had the chance of the match, when James Ward-Prowse hit him in stride, but was denied with a great save by David de Gea.
Southampton have to take away the positives from this game, primarily the back line without the presence of Virgil van Dijk. They were absolutely fantastic, especially dealing with late pressure.
A draw at Old Trafford is something to build upon, but there are clearly some things that need to be addressed. Here are the three takeaways from Southampton’s performance on Saturday night.