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Manchester United failed to build on their opening day demolition of Leeds United as Southampton earned a fully-deserved draw at St Mary's.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side looked full of attacking menace and threat in that 5-1 win over Leeds, but here they were a pale shadow of that performance as Saints earned their first point of the campaign and even threatened to grab the victory.
Southampton saw off United's bright start to flourish and take the lead on the half hour when Che Adams' shot deflected off Fred beyond keeper David de Gea.
United looked to be on the charge when Mason Greenwood's shot squirmed under Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy 10 minutes after the break - Solskjaer then moving to punish Saints further by sending on £73m man Jadon Sancho for the disappointing Anthony Martial.
Instead, it was Southampton who created the best opportunity to take all three points as De Gea saved crucially from Adam Armstrong when he looked to poised to score.
United boss Solskjaer will be disappointed with both the performance and the result but this was no more than Southampton deserved as they bounced back impressively from defeat at Everton in their first game.
Man Utd fall well short
Manchester United opened brightly and had a threatening spell after equalising but otherwise this was an average performance from a side harbouring genuine Premier League title ambitions.
United grew increasingly sloppy as the game went on, the occasional moments of sparkle from Paul Pogba failing to compensate for the complete lack of inspiration around him.
Martial contributed little or nothing and it was no surprise when was replaced by Sancho, who was quiet as Southampton regained composure and a measure of control after Greenwood's leveller.
Nemanja Matic was ponderous and off the pace while Fred's main contribution was to unwittingly deflect Adams' shot agonisingly out of the reach of De Gea when Saints went in front.
Who knows what goes on behind the scenes but those two performances pose the question of what Donny van de Beek must lack in Solskjaer's eyes to seemingly not even merit serious consideration for a place in United's engine room?
Scott McTominay was left on the bench until late on but when he came on the pattern of the game was set.
It is very early days and United were superb when thrashing Leeds United but this was the sort of careless, lacklustre display they cannot afford to repeat too often in a season that already looks like it will offer little margin for error for those chasing honours at the top of the table.
Saints show their mettle
Southampton's week brightened up considerably after that opening-day 3-1 loss at Everton when James Ward-Prowse, their most influential player, committed his future to the club by signing a new five-year contract.
And spirits will have been lifted even further by the manner in which they earned a point against big-spending United that was richly merited.
Saints were on the back foot amid United's early surge but held firm to take the lead and then, when United drew level and appeared to be carrying all the momentum, they showed the character and resilience to recover from the setback to push United all the way and threaten to take all three points.
Armstrong, their £15m summer signing from Blackburn Rovers, will be disappointed he did not take the big chance to take all three points when he was played through by Adams, De Gea diving low to his left to rescue United.
The striker then had the chance to make amends from the resulting corner but could not force home a header at the far post.
Southampton and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who greeted the final whistle with a fist-pump salute, will be very satisfied with the outcome and the performance and he look to have captured a real gem in 18-year-old right-back Valentino Livramento, signed from Chelsea for £5m.
The youngster was outstanding, both in the physical challenges in defence and also as an attacking threat, with one storming first-half run ending with a cross that was only inches away from the incoming Armstrong.
Saints may feel they could have had all three points but this was a game which gave Hasenhuttl plenty to build on.
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Southampton
Squad number1Player nameMcCarthy
Squad number21Player nameLivramento
Squad number5Player nameStephens
Squad number22Player nameSalisu
Squad number15Player namePerraud
Squad number32Player nameWalcott
Squad number6Player nameOriol Romeu
Squad number8Player nameWard-Prowse
Squad number19Player nameDjenepo
Squad number10Player nameAdams
Squad number9Player nameArmstrong
Squad number2Player nameWalker-Peters
Squad number27Player nameDiallo
Squad number35Player nameBednarek
Manchester United
Squad number1Player namede Gea
Squad number29Player nameWan-Bissaka
Squad number2Player nameLindelöf
Squad number5Player nameMaguire
Squad number23Player nameShaw
Squad number17Player nameFred
Squad number31Player nameMatic
Squad number11Player nameGreenwood
Squad number18Player nameBruno Fernandes
Squad number6Player namePogba
Squad number9Player nameMartial
Squad number14Player nameLingard
Squad number25Player nameSancho
Squad number39Player nameMcTominay
Line-ups
Southampton
Formation 4-4-2
- 1McCarthy
- 21Livramento
- 5StephensBooked at 90mins
- 22Salisu
- 15PerraudSubstituted forWalker-Petersat 79'minutes
- 32WalcottSubstituted forBednarekat 45'minutes
- 6Romeu
- 8Ward-Prowse
- 19DjenepoBooked at 51minsSubstituted forDialloat 70'minutes
- 10Adams
- 9Armstrong
Substitutes
- 2Walker-Peters
- 7Long
- 11Redmond
- 23Tella
- 24Elyounoussi
- 27Diallo
- 35Bednarek
- 43Valery
- 44Forster
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 2Lindelöf
- 5MaguireBooked at 76mins
- 23Shaw
- 17FredSubstituted forMcTominayat 76'minutes
- 31MaticSubstituted forLingardat 86'minutes
- 11Greenwood
- 18Bruno FernandesBooked at 31mins
- 6PogbaBooked at 90mins
- 9MartialSubstituted forSanchoat 59'minutes
Substitutes
- 8Mata
- 14Lingard
- 19Varane
- 20Dalot
- 21James
- 22Heaton
- 25Sancho
- 34van de Beek
- 39McTominay
Live Text
Match ends, Southampton 1, Manchester United 1.
Second Half ends, Southampton 1, Manchester United 1.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Che Adams (Southampton).
Jack Stephens (Southampton) is shown the yellow card.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Paul Pogba (Manchester United).
Che Adams (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Scott McTominay (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jadon Sancho.
Foul by Scott McTominay (Manchester United).
Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Luke Shaw (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Che Adams (Southampton).
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Victor Lindelöf.
Substitution, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard replaces Nemanja Matic.
Foul by Scott McTominay (Manchester United).
Oriol Romeu (Southampton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Corner, Southampton. Conceded by Nemanja Matic.
Substitution, Southampton. Kyle Walker-Peters replaces Romain Perraud.
Paul Pogba (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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