A second-half strike from Bruno Fernandes was enough to give Manchester United a crucial 1-0 away win over Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium. This gave Erik ten Hag‘s men a back-to-back win, after a 2-1 win over rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. This was also the Portuguese international’s first goal for United since February 2022. This marks the club’s first away win in eight games, seven of which ended in straight defeats. 

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Earlier in the day, ten Hag stuck to the XI that won the game against Liverpool with Casemiro, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Harry Maguire on the bench.

Early in the first half, it was United who had the majority of the ball possession, but almost ten minutes in, the Southampton defence remained unscathed. However, after 19 minutes, United really should have been up 1-0, but some absolutely incredible defence – two close-range saves from Saints’ goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and two blocks – allowed the home team to maintain a scoreless tie.

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Although Southampton was gradually regaining control of the game, Che Adams’ header from a well-executed Joe Aribo move went wide. The first half ended goalless. This was United’s first away match since February 2022, where it was not behind at the end of first half.

Three minutes into the second half, the visitors finally put Bazunu to the test when Scott McTominay found himself in space but shot straight at the goalie. In a close shave for Southampton, youngster Armel Bella-Kotchap produced a spectacular tackle to stop Anthony Elanga as the Swedish forward waltzed in, trying to give United their first goal. But after 55 minutes, Bruno Fernandes’ superb goal from the outskirts of the box, scoring from a cross from Diego Dalot, gave United the lead. 

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Then Ronaldo came on, replacing Jadon Sancho in the 68th minute. With 15 minutes remaining, the manager decided to add Casemiro to try and hold on to the three points as ten of Hag’s players were still holding out. The Brazilian replaced Anthony Elanga in the 88th minute. This marked his debut for the Red Devils and United managed to hold on to win the match. They next face Leicester on September 2.