Southampton 1-1 Man United: 5 Talking Points as Solskjaer’s Red Devils drop two points | Premier League 2019/20

#2 Midfielders showed nil quality

Southampton and Manchester United were poor in the midfield department. The Saint midfield consisted of Oriel Romeu and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, while the Red Devils opted for Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.

When Solskjaer’s side was dominating in the first half, the Saint succumbed under pressure and gave cheap possessions away. Romeu and Hojbjerg were often out of positions, helping Juan Mata’s course to pick out pockets of space behind the defensive line. The Spaniard created more chances than anybody else in the game, but failure to convert in the final third is a huge letdown.

It was the total vice versa in the second half. The hosts were applying pressure on the visitors, whose midfielders gave away cheap possessions on various occasions. This enabled Che Adams and Danny Ings to make runs behind the defence and cause continuous problems.  Nemanja Matic, who came on as a substitute in the second half, did not have a good passing record too.

Better things were expected in the middle of the park which failed to produce the much-needed spark.