Man Utd escape deserved ‘bullying’ as Ten Hag given sack reprieve by magic moments

Let’s be honest, Manchester United were rotten in that opening 35 minutes at Southampton, epitomised by Matthijs de Ligt’s buyer’s remorse as he was sold a basic feint by Kyle Walker-Peters before Diogo Dalot suffered a brain-fart that really should have given Southampton the lead.

United were panicked and frankly p***-poor, once again lacking any real pattern to their football, in direct contrast to pre-match interviews with Erik ten Hag and Dalot that suggested this was a new-look Manchester United side with a new-look attitude to pressing off the ball. It looked like the old Manchester United; specifically it looked like the old brainless Manchester United.

It was Southampton who clearly had a defined style of play while United looked like a disparate collection of players entirely reliant on the counter-attack and on undoubted individual quality.

And it was Southampton who really should have taken the lead when Dalot made a moronic challenge on teenager Tyler Dibling. But the longer you watched Cameron Archer wait for his very first senior penalty, the more you suspected that Andre Onana would win this particular battle of wills. And from that moment on, you absolutely knew United would win this match. They simply have better footballers capable of more extraordinary things.

This was not a victory or vindication for Ten Hag – who appeared to be risking his job with that starting XI – but it does bring sweet, sweet relief for the Dutchman when keyboards were being prepared for the sort of ‘bullying’ that Marcus Rashford believes he has suffered from the most vociferous United critics.

United’s first goal came from a sumptuous delivery from Bruno Fernandes that De Ligt converted, while Rashford arrowed his first goal since March into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. The Saints were twice culpable as they slackly attempted to defend corners; this is going to be a long slog of a season for Russell Martin and his well-meaning but flawed side.

Those goals mean that Ten Hag will face no further questions about those frenetic opening 35 minutes and the impact of the curious decision to start Christian Eriksen that clearly contributed to a lack of midfield control. And he was entirely vindicated in his decision – much criticised by United fans – to stick with Rashford and bring in the lively Amad Diallo for Alejandro Garnacho.

He could also easily point out that United’s total of six points in four games exactly mirrors the start of two years ago, when Ten Hag eventually led United to a top-four finish. And the positivity will not end there, with Manuel Ugarte allowed to ease himself into Premier League, with the emphasis on ‘ease’ as he entered the fray for the final, pedestrian 20 minutes as Garnacho made it 3-0 against 10 men.

We also saw a neat performance from Joshua Zirkzee while Lisandro Martinez settled into his usual excellence in defence. There are plenty of positives to be gleaned from this south-coast visit as long as you ignore that a) this Southampton side is surely going back from whence they came with barely a whimper and b) the first 35 minutes of football were truly rotten.

But United will surely find it easier to develop a pattern of play when Ugarte is starting regularly alongside Kobbie Mainoo. Then there might finally be nearly as much substance as individual style and we can stop talking about Ten Hag as a dead man walking without a discernible plan.