Manchester United claimed a late victory at Old Trafford in a 3-1 victory against Southampton to end their four-game hunt for a league win in last night’s Premier League fixture.
This win sees the Red Devils climb up to 12th in the league whilst the Saints remain rooted to the bottom and eight points away from 19th place Leicester
A deflected own goal by Manuel Ugarte for Southampton in the first half was not enough to see the game out as a late second half hat-trick from United starlet Amad Diallo claimed all three points for the Red Devils.
Ivan Juric will be disappointed with his side as they were leading the game up until the 82nd minute but once Diallo found his first the second quickly followed and then the third came moments after.
Diallo said: “In football you have to believe. We are very happy to win this game because we had a draw with Liverpool and Arsenal, so the confidence was there, but we are very happy.”
For Ruben Amorim’s side, they are now nine points away from the European spots and will hope to close that margin over the following matchdays using their recent form.
Juric continues to search for his first league win with the Hampshire based side and will look back at this fixture as an opportunity missed. It is now the second time that Southampton have lost a lead under his management.
Juric said: “We played 75 minutes really good we were playing much better than Manchester United and the last 15 minutes we were like innocent kids.
“To win this game you can play 75 minutes the big game and 15 minutes you have to be much more malicious and a little more evil.”
The game started brightly for the Saints as they capitalised on what looked to be a fatigued Manchester United side.
Kamaldeen Sulemana was the main source of attack for the visitors tonight as he utilised his speed and repeatedly tormented Red Devils defender Lenny Yoro throughout the first half.
In the 42nd minute, Tyler Dibling’s flicked header deflected off of Ugarte which was enough to beat Andre Onana from close range. This was Southampton’s first goal from a corner all season.
The Saints entered the break 1-0 up.
The second half continued in the same fashion as the travelling side maintained their efforts for a safety net to secure a vital win for their season.
Southampton began to tire as the minutes passed in the second half and Diallo took advantage in the 82nd minute. After a bit of fortune while taking on Kyle Walker Peters, the winger drove his shot low and hard to the left of Aaron Ramsdale in goal.
Just as the game looked like it was going to peter out, Diallo pounced on a perfectly weighted lofted ball by Christian Eriksen and poked his shot into the same corner to give United the lead.
In added time, Diallo robbed England international Taylor Harwood-Bellis after a poor touch and tapped into an empty net which meant the Ivorian completed his hat-trick in 10 minutes.
United will now hope to continue this run of form into their next matchday which is another home fixture this time against Brighton whilst Southampton are on the road again as they travel to Nottingham Forrest where Juric will hope to get a better result.
Diallo shines as Southampton fall to defeat at Old Trafford