Manchester Utd 3-2 Southampton: When class speaks
(Baonghean.vn) - The clash between Tottenham and Arsenal in round 29 of the Premier League is a big advantage for Man Utd as the "Rooster" and the "Gunners" had a 1-1 draw in the match that ended not long ago.
If they win first, Southampton “Red Devils” will have the opportunity to surpass Arsenal to take the 4th position on the rankings with 1 more point. In addition, after hosting Southampton, Man Utd will travel to France to meet PSG in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. Therefore, Man Utd really need a victory to boost their spirit for the difficult match against PSG.
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| Southampton opened the scoring against MU. Photo: Zing.vn |
Southampton are "struggling" with the relegation battle, and they have just changed their fortunes by changing their coach and having a very important 2-0 victory over Fulham, thereby lighting up their chances of staying in the league. It will not be easy for the Old Trafford team to get what they want.
Man Utd's hopes of scoring now rest on striker Lukaku and could be the key to deciding the match, in the context that strikers like Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial are all doubtful of playing. In addition, playing at home is also a big advantage to help Man Utd win all 3 points.
When referee Stuart Attwell blew the whistle to start the match at Old Trafford, the visiting team Southampton was the team to kick off first. However, just a few minutes later, Southampton lost control of the ball. In the 3rd minute of the match, Romelu Lukaku had the opportunity to open the scoring for Man Utd with a powerful left-footed shot but could not defeat the Southampton goalkeeper.
In the following minutes of the match, Man Utd still controlled the ball more and created many dangerous situations for goalkeeper Gunn, but the lack of luck of Belgian striker Lukaku still could not break the deadlock for Man Utd.
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| Valery and his celebration of Southampton's opening goal against Manchester United. Photo: Zing.vn |
On the side of the visiting team Southampton, the most dangerous situation they created was the header of center-back Vestergaard who joined the attack and comfortably headed the ball without being marked by any Man Utd player, but the ball unfortunately went over the crossbar in the 12th minute of the match. In the following minutes, the away team was mostly concerned with defending against the relentless attacks of the home team Man Utd.
Everything seemed easy for the Old Trafford team, but in the 26th minute of the match, from a central attack, the ball was passed to Valery on the right wing. After a moment of control, the player wearing the number 43 shirt on the away team had a cannon shot from a distance of 25 meters, the ball went hard and hit the inside of the crossbar, leaving goalkeeper De Gea helpless, opening the score for Southampton.
The first goal conceded was like a bucket of cold water poured straight into the "Red Devils" face, in the following minutes, MU pushed up the formation to find an equalizer. It was still Lukaku's unimaginable lack of luck, when in the 35th minute of the match, from a pass from the right wing, the destination was still the head of the Belgian striker, but in a favorable position, this player missed his header.
4 minutes later, it was another miraculous save by goalkeeper Gunn when he flew to save Southampton from a dangerous header by Smalling. At the end of the first half, MU was temporarily leading 0-1 by the away team Southampton.
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| Lukaku was the "hero" of MU with a double against Southampton in a dramatic 3-2 victory. Photo: Zing.vn |
Entering the second half, MU pushed up their attacking formation as soon as the whistle blew. The spirit of a big team helped the "Red Devils" create an overwhelming game right from the start and all of Man Utd's efforts were rewarded. In the 53rd minute of the match, Pereira dribbled the ball at speed in the middle of the field and fired a shot from about 30 meters away, the ball went hard and dangerous, leaving goalkeeper Gunn helpless, the score was Man Utd 1-1 Southampton.
With the opening goal, the "Red Devils" showed a completely different face compared to the first half. They attacked more vigorously, faster, more coherently and the most expected player on the MU attack line, Lukaku, erased his unlucky streak in the match with a breakthrough in the penalty area. Passing 2 defenders of the visiting team Southampton before putting the ball into the far corner of goalkeeper Gunn's goal, he raised the score to 2-1 for MU in the 59th minute of the match.
However, the joy of the Old Trafford team did not last long, when in the 73rd minute of the match, Man Utd players committed a foul in front of the penalty area and the away team was awarded a free kick. Ward-Prowse drew a perfect curve on the free kick spot, the ball passed the "Red Devils" wall, equalizing the score 2 - 2 for Southampton before the stunned goalkeeper De Gea.
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| Manchester Utd 3 - 2 Southampton, a dramatic match until the last minute. Photo: Zing.vn |
Having scored the equalizer, Southampton players retreated deep into their own half to protect the result in the hope of getting 1 point. But the "Red Devils" did not think so, they continuously besieged the away team's goal, and once again, the hope on the attack of Man Utd, Lukaku, spoke up at the right time of the match. In the 90th minute, when the Belgian striker got the ball in the penalty area and turned to finish with his right foot, defeating goalkeeper Gunn, the score was 3 - 2 for Man Utd.
The score would have been 4 - 2 for Man Utd in the 90 + 4 minute if Paul Pogba had successfully executed the penalty kick from the 11 meter mark when the away team player fouled Rashford in the penalty area. However, the brilliance of goalkeeper Gunn denied the French player the opportunity to score.
At the end of the match at Old Trafford, Man Utd won against the visiting team Southampton with a score of 3 - 2.
With this victory, Man Utd surpassed Arsenal to take 4th place on the rankings with 1 more point 58 compared to 57. With Southampton, they had a very good match against Man Utd but that was not enough to bring them 1 point.
At the end of round 29, Southampton stood at 17th place on the rankings with 27 points and was only 2 points ahead of 18th-placed Cardiff City.
Goal scorer:
MU: Pereira (53'), Lukaku (59', 90')
Southampton: Valery (26'), Ward-Prowse (73')
Starting lineup:
MU:De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw, Pereira, McTominay, Sanchez, Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku
Southampton:Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Bertrand, Valery, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu, Redmond, Austin
Results of some other matches:
Tottenham 1 - 1 Arsenal
AFC Bournemouth 0 - 1 Man City
Brighton 1 - 0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1 - 3 Crystal Palace
Wolverhampton 2 - 0 Cardiff City