Manchester United surrendered a half-time lead as a poor second half display allowed Southampton to fight back and earn a share of the spoils on the south coast. The result leaves Solskjaer’s men with three wins from sixteen, whilst 10-man saints battled well in the final twenty minutes to shut the visitors out and move up to 13th in the table.  

As it happened

United dominated early proceedings with new signings Harry Maguire looking assured and confident in playing out from the back and Daniel James displaying a direct threat on the left wing. James’ willingness to drive towards goal paid off in the 10th minute as he received the ball out wide, cut in and struck the ball clean and true into the top corner from the edge of the box. For those who doubted James’ final product, Juan Mata’s overlap provided the space and the 21-year-old produced a truly emphatic finish to take his season’s tally to 3 in 4 games.

The early onslaught lead by James continued as the Welshman continuously fired powerful shots into Angus Gunn, although none of them precise enough to extend the visitors’ lead. United showed tremendous energy in attack as through balls into the channels allowed the searing pace of James and Rashford to torment the saints back line. Meanwhile, a lack of composure and a tendency to ‘knock it and run’ by Danny Ings and Che Adams up front saw Southampton spend long periods without the ball, although they finally began to grab a foothold in the game just before half time.

In the second half, Southampton continued to grow in confidence as United’s attacking energy began to dwindle. The hosts were growing frustrated at their failure to capitalise on what was their best spell of the game as Che Adams lashed an effort over the bar from close range, a spurned opportunity that was characteristic of his poor afternoon. However, the saints  got their reward just before the hour mark through Jannick Vestergaard who was still loitering in the United box following a corner. A ball in from Kevin Danso found its way onto the head of the 6’6 Norweigan who dominated Victor Lindelof in the air to power a header past David De Gea.

United’s first half threat had all but disappeared by this point and the game appeared to be there for the taking for either side. That was until the otherwise impressive Danso slid in recklessly to receive his second yellow card of the game. It was an absurd decision that left Mike Dean with no choice, and the young Austrian’s mistake required Southampton to batten down the hatches for the final twenty minutes. Substitute Mason Greenwood almost stole the headlines with a curling 88th minute effort, but Hassenhuttl’s men held on for an impressive point against United.

What did we learn?

Solskjaer will be gutted to come away with less than three points as his team began so brightly. An unorthodox attacking quartet of James, Mata, Pereira and Rashford operated with a level of dynamism and offensive vigour that the saints simply could not handle early on.

Romelu Lukaku’s absence leaves United without a true focal point up top, a reality that both helped and hindered the reds in this fixture. Early on, balls into the channels caused Southampton all kinds of problems with Rashford equally adept at blazing down the wing and crossing balls in as he is running through on goal himself. His and Juan Mata’s ability to link play at the top end of the pitch mean United’s attacks are much less uniform and predictable when they are firing on all cylinders. As a result, it is increasingly important that those supporting the striker chip in with plenty of goals this season as Daniel James has done so far.

Having said this, when Southampton sat back to see out the game it was the lack of focal point up front that meant United never really looked like taking all three points. As the saints sat deep and defended compactly they restricted the visitors to hopeful balls into the box and shots from distance. Rashford, for all his pace and linkup play, was unable to bully the opposition defence and make those balls into the box his own. As exciting as the fast, counter-attacking threat was in the first half, Southampton found a way to nullify it and without replacing Lukaku, United are ultimately without a plan B.

It was not a game devoid of positives for United however, as new signings Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka put in impressive displays respectively. Maguire was not only a strong presence at the back, but also a reliable starting point for the team’s attacks with adventurous passes forward. The £80m signing stepped into midfield with success and regularity, and during the closing stages he became an integral part of United’s offence by keeping attacks going from the edge of the opposition box. The way the 26-year-old has started the season hints that his meteoric rise is by no means finished.

Wan-Bissaka meanwhile spent most of the game on the floor winning slide tackle after slide tackle. Whilst he was an active part in United’s attacks down the right flank early on, his defensive feats were even more impressive. Up against the talented Sofiane Boufal, he gave the Moroccan a torrid afternoon by dominating him 1 vs. 1, eventually forcing Ralph Hassenhuttl to shift Boufal to a central position where his influence on the game increased. The two summer signings, at a combined £130m, are undoubtedly taking United’s defence in the right direction.

Southampton meanwhile will feel fortunate to come away with a point, but will be encouraged by their resolute defending to see out the tie. It was a poor afternoon for their attackers but the saints defence, weak on paper, earned due praise for their performances. 20-year-old Austrian Kevin Danso had perhaps the most eventful afternoon of all, putting in a solid performance and assisting Vestergaard’s goal before inexplicably sliding in to receive his second yellow on 73 minutes. The youngster on loan from Augsburg showed a streak of inexperience, but his performance up to that point and monstrous throw-ins could render him one to watch this season.

Premier League action resumes in two weeks time for these two sides as the international break looms, with Southampton travelling to Bramall Lane to face newly promoted Sheffield United, whilst Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford.

When considering a list of the Premier League’s greatest one season wonders, any seasoned football fan will invariably utter the names Amr Zaki and Michu. The pair haunt one season wonder lists not least due to their brief brilliance in front of goal, but also due to the extent with which their careers sailed off a cliff immediately afterwards. Zaki, who bagged a startling 5 goals in his first 6 Wigan games, scored a meager three professional goals in his six seasons after leaving the Latics. Michu was even more of a hit, scoring 22 goals in his first season at the Liberty stadium. Fast forward three years and he was languishing in the third tier of Spanish football playing in front of 4,000 people every weekend. Yes, they are the kings, but for the love of Jesus let’s look at five more that you perhaps may not have thought of.

Charlie Adam (Blackpool 2010/11)

Yes, he went on to play a lot of Premier League football after this season. No, not all of it was bad. Yes, his halfway line goal at Stamford Bridge was a thing of beauty. But for those of you that were not watching, I don’t think you understand quite how good Charlie Adam was in his maiden Premier League season at Blackpool. Adam pranced around Bloomfield Road pinging balls cross-field and top bins like he was Xabi Alonso. Assisted by the likes of DJ Campbell and Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Adam closed out the season with a haul of 12 Premier League goals from central midfield. For context, Ryan Giggs reached this total only once in his 24 seasons at Manchester United, as did Paul Scholes. Sadly it was not enough to save the tangerines from relegation, but Adam got his well deserved move to Liverpool that summer for £7m. Playing in a Liverpool side consisting of Jon Flanagan, Jay Spearing and Fabio Aurelio, Adam had a lacklustre season floating in and out of the side and netting just twice. Six mediocre seasons followed at Stoke City, with an unbelievable 60-yard effort past Thibaut Courtois thrown in for consolation. These days, 33 year old Adam plies his trade in the Championship with Reading.

Robinho (Manchester City 2008/09)

Many people consider Robinho to have flopped in England’s top flight, however it is a little known fact that the most fruitful season of his career was enjoyed in Manchester. Granted, he did not know whether he was playing for the red or the blue half, but with 14 goals in 31 games the diminutive stepover merchant set Eastlands (as it was then known) alight for a brief period. After one full season however, it appeared his patience had worn thin trying to win games with Tal Ben-Haim, Javier Garrido and Ched Evans by his side. His attitude began to worsen and ten goalless appearances marred the beginning of his following campaign, and before long he was ushered out of the door by Roberto Mancini as costly arrivals began to fly into City’s ranks. This was to be his only stint in the Premier League, and an up and down spell at AC Milan kick-started his slow descent into obscurity which took him back to Brazil, China and then Turkey. These days, his once glittering career which took off at the Bernabeu has become overshadowed by a rape charge stemming from an incident in 2013. Despite being sentenced to 9 years in an Italian court, the appeals process is still ongoing and Robinho remains on the books of Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig.

Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland 2010/11)

Yes, it turns out a 10 goal haul really does make you a one season wonder if you play for Sunderland. Off the back of a tremendous 2010 World Cup with Ghana, Gyan signed for the black cats from Rennes in a club record £13m deal. He immediately endeared himself to fans by netting once on his first appearance, once on his first start and twice on his first league start against Stoke City. Nimble footwork and obvious talent (in his celebrations at least) equally endeared him to neutrals as he rounded off the season as Sunderland’s top scorer, leading them to an impressive 10th place finish under Steve Bruce. Content with his one season at the top of the game, Gyan bizarrely decided to boost his retirement fund, quadrupling his salary by moving to the UAE to join Al Ain. What followed, I kid you not, was 95 goals in 83 league games. Such goal scoring feats in the middle east failed to make European headlines, but the paycheque pursuit continued as Gyan completed a move to Shanghai SIPG in 2015, signing a contract worth a reported £227,000 per week. After 7 goals in two years, what followed was a return to the UAE, an unspectacular spell with Kayserispor in Turkey and now at the age of 33 Gyan is a free agent. Early retirement perhaps?

Adel Taarabt (QPR 2012/13)

A maverick of modern football, Adel Taarabt could have nutmegged a prime Paolo Maldini. A supremely skilful attacking midfielder, strangely it was the season QPR finished bottom of the Premier League in which he shone the brightest. Infamous throughout football for his poor attitude, his sizeable ego clearly relished the prospect of being the best player in a poor team. QPR only claimed four victories from the entire season, two of which Taarabt won practically on his own. The hoops’ long-awaited 2-1 victory against Fulham came in their 17th game of the season, Taarabt scored both goals, including a sumptuous outside of the boot finish following a mazy run from the halfway line. Three weeks later he assisted the only goal in their stunning victory at Stamford Bridge. He ended the season with 5 goals, a dramatically enhanced reputation and a platform to kick on and have a long and illustrious career. Unfortunately, Taarabt failed to score in three out of his next six campaigns in ventures which took him to AC Milan, Fulham, Genoa and Benfica. The calibre of teams he attracts is testament to his ability, but somewhat predictably he has so far failed to resurrect the kind of form that put him on the Premier League map at QPR. Last season at the age of 30 he made just six appearances, split evenly between Benfica and Benfica B.  

Benjani Mwaruwari (Portsmouth 2007/08)

Harry Redknapp’s favourite Zimbabwean was well liked for his cheery persona and trademark celebration where he would point his finger three times. Unfortunately for Benjani, three was to be his highest scoring season after leaving Portsmouth, but the legend of his 12 goal season at Fratton Park lives on. He had already reached this total by 19th January after netting his second hat-trick in just four months, the other of which was in Portsmouth’s bizarre 7-4 win over Reading. This early season goal scoring bonanza for Benjani lead him to Sven Goran Eriksson’s Manchester City where everything started to go pear shaped. Things looked to be off to a flyer when he shouldered in the winner for City at Old Trafford, but he would never reach these heights again in the final four years of his career. He scored just five goals in his final four Premier League seasons with Sunderland, Blackburn and back at Portsmouth, before closing out his career with the mighty Chippa United and Bidvest Wits of the South African top flight. He retired at the age of 36 with an overall ratio of 0.24 goals per game, which illustrates just how much of a bolt from the blue that early season form at Portsmouth really was.

Safe, secure and comfortable. If life as a Premier League manager is to be summed up in three words, these would not make the cut. Indeed, this is not your average job market, and a run of poor results can see managers put under severe pressure right from the word go. Heck, sometimes the starting gun is still ringing in people’s ears when managers are being shown the door – does anyone remember Frank De Boer’s goalless 4 game tenure as Crystal Palace manager a couple of years back? Today, we take a look at 4 managers who could be out of a job first this season.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

As Frank Lampard lay in bed the night before his Premier League bow in the Chelsea dugout, I doubt he could have ever imagined it would go so badly. Granted, there are several players still to come into that Chelsea line-up to provide a much needed injection of quality (Rudiger and Kante to name a couple), but a 4-0 humbling at Old Trafford really was a brutal beginning to Lampard’s fairytale job. As Chelsea’s transfer ban looms large, fierce debate has been sparked about whether this makes Frank’s job less pressurised, or whether he has walked into a ticking time bomb. One thing is for certain, expectations will be dramatically lower at Stamford Bridge this season following Hazard’s departure and the ban being upheld. For the first time since the early-2000s, Lampard’s brief would realistically have been to guide the club to a 4th place finish. However, even though he has been set a much lower objective than the Ancelotti’s, Scolari’s and Mourinho’s that preceded him, with the current crop of players a Champions League spot may very well be a bridge too far. A huge factor in that is Hazard’s departure, without the magnificent Belgian Chelsea lack a world class presence on the pitch who can grab games by the scruff of the neck and claim 3 points single-handedly. Secondly, Lampard’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation which he has begun the season with is not ideal for what he has at his disposal. £50m midfielder Jorginho was essentially purchased for the sole purpose of fitting into Maurizio Sarri’s footballing philosophy; a slow, unspectacular player who is an expert at keeping the ball moving from the middle of the park. Whilst he is a fantastic option as the deepest of a midfield three, he would have to adapt his game hugely to fit into Lampard’s double-pivot that screens the back four. Furthermore, even with the return of the hugely impressive Antonio Rudiger, a defensive unit containing Emerson, Andreas Christensen and Kepa Arrizabalaga is simply not of top four standard, particularly when teams around and below them are smelling blood. Indeed, it is entirely conceivable that aside from dropping out of the top four, Chelsea could risk dropping out of the top six altogether with Leicester, Wolves and Everton sure to be breathing down their necks. Amid Graeme Souness and Jose Mourinho’s jousting match on Sky Sports a couple of weeks ago, the Portuguese did raise a valid point that Lampard’s legend status and Chelsea’s tricky situation is sure to buy the Englishman more time. However, a poor start to the season could easily have people pointing towards a lack of pedigree, knowledge and experience in coping with such a situation. It is all speculative at this stage, but if Chelsea begin to languish in mid-table then the legendary status held by Lampard is sure to count for little.

Sean Dyche (Burnley)

Let’s get it straight, with Burnley’s squad they should have been relegated many seasons ago. Weekends at Turf Moor really are like being transported back to the 1980s: defenders who clear the ball, wingers who cross balls in, and two big lumps up front who kick or header the ball really hard into the other team’s goal. Essentially, that is Burnley’s footballing philosophy and Sean Dyche has got it down to a fine art; be very difficult to get through, restrict opponents to shots from distance, and give polished defenders a tough, physical afternoon. It’s certainly not tiki-taka, Sarriball or rock ‘n’ roll but in 2017/18 it lead Burnley to an unthinkable 7th place finish, within touching distance of Arsenal. However, last season’s 15th place finish was a crash back down to Earth and you start to think that maybe, just maybe the grumbling goatee ambassador’s race has been run. After a summer transfer window with a painful lack of optimism with Drinkwater, Pieters and Rodriguez headlining, the best case scenario for the coming season is realistically to be secure in the lower realms of mid-table. However, it is much more likely that Turf Moor will be embroiled in a relegation fight one way or another. As I said, with the squad the way it is Premier League survival would not be such a terrible outcome, but let’s not forget that Dyche himself put this thoroughly uninspiring squad together. Ultimately it boils down to whether, after 8 years in charge, owners and fans are happy to observe a stagnating team, or whether they feel the urge to have another roll of the dice. The utmost respect for his achievements with Burnley over the past few seasons, but if this is to be another tough season for Burnley (which I suspect it might), then it might be an early bath Dyche.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United)

The culmination of the Mourinho era at Old Trafford really was a bleak time for United fans. Poor results, poor performances and star players at loggerheads with the manager made it the perfect time for the baby faced assassin to waltz in and lighten the mood. Low and behold, Ole won his first 8 games in a row, Paul Pogba was putting in his strongest and most fruitful displays in a United shirt and fans bellowed ‘Ole’s at the wheel!’ from the terraces. It was euphoria at Old Trafford, I even had one fan tell me that Ole was the best manager in the Premier League (yes, seriously). The truth is, there are a lot of big egos in this Manchester United team, and the buoyant mood that emerged from the so-called ‘new manager bounce’ appeared to give them something of a new lease of life. However, that bounce became thoroughly deflated when United closed out the season with 2 wins in their final 12 games to splutter to a 6th place finish. Despite this, the board has backed Solskjaer in the summer transfer market to bring in, among others, world record £80m defender Harry Maguire so there is still hope that the red devils can rediscover the form that characterised the glory of Ole’s early weeks at the helm. Judging by last season’s dramatic peak and trough, what certainly is present for United in the coming season is a sense that things really could go either way. In letting Romelu Lukaku join Inter Milan, United have sold a proven Premier League goalscorer and are now gambling on Rashford, Martial and Greenwood to produce goalscoring form that has so far been absent in their Manchester United careers. Don’t get me wrong, I think a fast, counter-attacking United front three can be hugely exciting to watch, but it is risky business selling a guaranteed goalscorer without replacement, and failure to produce the goods could be curtains for Solskjaer. The real key to United’s success however is Paul Pogba – plain and simple. Hoards of fans were calling for the Frenchman’s head last season due to his lazy streak and inconsistency. Indeed, Pogba could not be blamed if he was to leave due to the treatment he received from some fans in a season where he was still United’s most influential player. In Pogba we are talking about a potential future Balon D’or winner who is the only remotely world class player in United’s midfield ranks. Europe’s giants are sniffing around him, if he stays and the front three step up to the plate then United could credibly make a top four push, but if he leaves then it may not be long before Ole must hand the keys to someone else.

Steve Bruce (Newcastle)

As a boyhood fan, becoming Magpies boss was the position Steve Bruce had always dreamed of, but he may have just landed it at the worst possible time. The truth is, a lower-mid-table side were blessed to be lead by someone with the tactical nouse and elite-level pedigree of Rafa Benitez. The fans knew it, they feared the day that he may up sticks and leave as they knew deep down that his replacement would almost certainly be a damage limitation job. Bruce really has stepped into the lion’s den in taking this job on. With neutrals practically expecting failure and fans pessimistic for the season ahead, it would not take a hugely disgraceful run of results for the football world to be on his back. Furthermore, Mike Ashley’s historical unwillingness to spend on recruitment is a factor that may have bought previous managers more time, however this summer’s £75m spending bonanza (by Newcastle standards) will lead all fingers to point in Bruce’s direction if results falter. Despite their big spending summer, the current Newcastle side appears to be desperately short of goalscorers. A midfield duo of Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff is one of stability rather than creativity or attacking threat. On the flanks, Christian Atsu shows flashes of fantastic dribbling ability alongside a painfully obvious shortage of end product, whilst Miguel Almiron looks extremely lively but has contributed to zero goals in his 13 appearances so far. Bruce’s fate therefore may rest largely in the hands of their new £40m number 9, Joelinton. If his performances so far are anything to go by then the Toon are in capable hands. Against Spurs, the 23-year-old Brazilian showed strength, a good first touch, an ability to hold the ball up and he took his chance to win the game clinically. It was a sensational win for Newcastle against an off-beat Spurs side, but if Bruce is to make it to January where he will surely need goalscoring reinforcements, he will depend hugely on his new striker to get him there.