Manchester United 9-0 Southampton
Manchester United have made more Premier League history as they smashed struggling Southampton 9-0, which tied the record they share for the largest win ever in the Premier League.
The win sees United jump back into second place, tied on 44 points with rivals Man City, who still have two more games in hand.
Saints’ Swiss teenager Alex Jankewitz was sent off just two minutes into his first career Premier League start, and United took full advantage by scoring four goals inside the first 40 minutes.
The Red Devils then added five more goals in the last 20-plus minutes to condemn Southampton to their fourth-straight league defeat and their second 9-0 humiliation in as many seasons.
Highlights of the game
Southampton came into Old Trafford on a disappointing run of form, winning just once in their last eight games. And their Premier League 2021 odds of picking up a victory over United dropped significantly as 19-year-old Alex Jankewitz was shown a red card just two minutes into the match for his horrible tackle on Scott McTominay.
It was a disastrous start for the Saints and their Swiss teen, who will not remember his first career Premier League start fondly.
It took some time, but United eventually broke through and took the lead on 18 minutes through Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The right-back made a great run into the six-yard box to get on the end of left-back Luke Shaw’s dangerous cross.
United would double their advantage seven minutes later. After receiving a clever pass from Shaw down the left, Mason Greenwood cut the ball back to Marcus Rashford, who slotted past Alex McCarthy.
Southampton had a good chance to pull one back right away through a trademark James Ward-Prowse free kick, but David de Gea was able to react quickly and punched the shot over the bar.
But United sealed the win with their third goal on 34 minutes as Saints defender Jan Bednarek inadvertently redirected a Rashford cross into his own net.
Edinson Cavani added the finishing touches to the flurry of first-half scoring with United’s fourth on 40 minutes. The Uruguayan, who missed a couple of great chances in their goalless draw against Arsenal, made no mistake this time as he headed home another good cross from Shaw.
Southampton thought they had scored a consolation goal through Che Adams nine minutes into the second half. But just like in their loss to Aston Villa, Saints had another goal chalked off by VAR due to the most fractional of offside calls.
United would restart the scoring on 69 minutes as Anthony Martial, who came on at half-time, got a much-needed goal to boost his waning confidence. McTominay then added a sixth three minutes later with a beautiful long-range strike.
Martial missed a great chance to get his second after shooting wide in a one-on-one situation. But he would play a big part in United’s seventh goal four minutes from time.
Bednarek was adjudged to have brought the Frenchman down in the box despite seemingly minimal contact. But after a long look at the monitor, Mike Dean upheld his penalty call and also sent the Saints defender off for his trouble. Bruno Fernandes stepped up to score from the spot yet again.
Saints’ suffering wasn’t quite done, though. Martial added more insult to injury by scoring his second in the 90th minute. And fellow sub Daniel James joined the scoring party by tapping in United’s ninth with virtually the last touch of the game.
Key statistics
It was a remarkable match from a historical perspective. For United, they now have two of the three biggest wins in Premier League history. They initially set the record with their 9-0 victory against Ipswich in 1995, which was also at Old Trafford.
Leicester are the other Premier League team to win by nine goals and the only one to do so away from home. And they achieved that feat against Southampton last season.
After going five straight Premier League games without a goal or an assist, Bruno Fernandes got back on track with a goal and two assists. The Portuguese penalty expert has now scored in 16 of his 17 spot kicks for United.
Meanwhile, Martial finally created some Premier League 2021 highlights by ending his eight-match scoring drought in all competitions. Luke Shaw, who has greatly exceeded expectations this season, also had a brilliant match with two assists against his old club.
What’s next?
Man United have a couple more matches at Old Trafford over the next week. They will look to continue their title challenge when they take on Everton this weekend. Then they host West Ham in their fifth-round FA Cup tie in midweek.
SBOTOP odds currently have United at 5.50 to win the cup, but David Moyes’ Hammers figure to be quite a dangerous foe.
As for Southampton, they will look to bounce back from this latest embarrassment when they face Newcastle this weekend. After that, they have back-to-back matches coming up against Wolves, first in the FA Cup at Molineux, then in the league at St. Mary’s.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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