SOUTHAMPTON - A second-half strike from Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood cancelled out an own goal from teammate Fred to earn a 1-1 draw at Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.
United had a euphoric start to the season with a 5-1 home win over Leeds United but could not repeat that performance and were lucky not to lose to Ralph Hasenhüttl's organized and dynamic side.
Southampton took the lead on the half-hour mark after a bright spell when Jack Stephens dispossessed Bruno Fernandes in the United half and the hosts swiftly moved the ball towards Ché Adams, whose shot took a heavy deflection off Fred to squirm inside the near post and past David de Gea.
CHE ADAMS WOW.
1-0 to Southampton! #MyPLMorning@peacockTV #SOUMUN pic.twitter.com/HpNmLKCr0b
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 22, 2021
United defender Harry Maguire had hit the crossbar early on with a looping header while Anthony Martial's rebound was scrambled off the line by Mohammed Salisu but the half had belonged to Southampton, who swarmed over United with an aggressive high press and caused havoc down the right hand side.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side leveled early in the 55th when Greenwood thumped a low shot under Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy after clever interplay between Fernandes and Paul Pogba, who added another assist to the four he notched against Leeds.
There goes MASON GREENWOOD.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 22, 2021
Southampton finished the game strongest though and Adam Armstrong missed two clear chances to win it, first being denied by a fine save from De Gea following another speedy transition and then failing to steer an Adams flick on towards goal following a corner.
Greenwood praised Southampton's performance but criticized his side for not capitalizing on the equalizer.
"It was a difficult game, Southampton defended well but in my eyes we dropped two points," he told Sky Sports. "When we got the equalizer we should have gone for the throats, the time went away and we did not get the winner towards the end."
Southampton right back Valentino Livramento said his side had chances to take all three points but he was happy with one.
"We knew the way we could compete was by being physical and aggressive with the press and hitting them on the counter," he said. "I feel we could have won the game, maybe could have lost the game, but a draw is a fair result."
(Reporting by Richard Martin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
