MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United held on for a 0-0 draw against bottom club Southampton despite playing for almost an hour with 10 men after Casemiro’s red card.
– Report: Man United 0-0 Southampton | first division table
The Brazilian midfielder was sent off for a high tackle on carlos alcaraz after a VAR review. Referee Anthony Taylor initially showed casemiro a yellow card, but it was updated after Taylor watched the incident on the pitch monitor.
Both David De Gea and Gavin Bazunu he made good saves to keep the game goalless, and United are likely to be happier with the result.
quick reaction
1. Man United hold on, Southampton miss out
Under Erik ten Hag, United have produced exciting attacking football, but on Sunday it was all about grit and determination. Playing with 10 men from the 35th minute after Casemiro received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Alcaraz, United ensured they extended their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 22 games.
Ten Hag needed De Gea to make two good saves, but Southampton goalkeeper Bazunu was also impressive, making sharp saves to deny Rafael Varane and Bruno Fernandes. In the end, Southampton, bottom of the Premier League table, will feel it’s a missed opportunity after playing on one man advantage for so long, while United will be happy to pick up a point from a game they could have lost. easily.
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The biggest disappointment for Ten Hag will be losing Casemiro for the next four domestic matches, including the trip to Newcastle on April 2, while a late injury at alejandro garnacho It’s also something I could do without.
Casemiro was never shown a straight red card during his time at Real Madrid, but he has been shown two in his last three Premier League appearances.
2. Ten Hag has an enigma with De Gea
Ten Hag has seen the best and worst of De Gea in the span of four days this week, highlighting the problem for the United manager as he decides what’s next for the goalkeeper.
On Thursday against Real Betis, De Gea’s hitting was poor and he put his teammates in trouble on more than one occasion. A misplaced pass nearly allowed the Spanish team to take the lead late in the first half before United took control of the tie.
However, against Southampton, De Gea showed that he is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world with a reflex save to avoid Theo Walcott scoring with a header from six metres. It was the kind of save he has produced time and time again over the past decade at Old Trafford.
You can understand why Ten Hag might want a goalkeeper who is better with the ball at his feet, especially when looking to build from the back, but the risk is that any new addition won’t be as good at making saves. It’s a question Ten Hag must resolve when he implements the second stage of his rebuild this summer.
3. Bazunu has his best match for Southampton
There have been questions about Bazunu this season after Southampton spent close to £16m in the summer to bring on a goalkeeper who was playing in League One a year ago. On loan at Portsmouth from Manchester City last season, on occasion this season The third tier has been seen to be at the level of the 21-year-old, but at Old Trafford he looked at home in the Premier League.
With Southampton playing against 10 men for nearly an hour, Bazunu didn’t have the busy afternoon he probably expected, but he still made two wonderful saves to ensure United didn’t snatch all three points.
In the first half, the Republic of Ireland international ran to the far post to deny Raphael Varane by diving on the Frenchman. Then, after half time, he produced a fantastic save to push Bruno Fernandes’ effort inside the post. He was also quick off his lane more than once to get the best of duels with Mark Rashford.
Bazunu still has some work to do to win over the majority of Southampton fans, but a clean sheet at Old Trafford is a good place to start.
Best and worst performers
BETTER
– Gavin Bazunu, goalkeeper, Southampton: The 21-year-old made two outstanding saves from Varane and Fernandes.
– David De Gea, Manchester United goalkeeper: He deftly pushed Theo Walcott’s header over the crossbar from six yards out.
– Aaron Wan BissakaDF, United Man: Warned Scott McTominay scoring an own goal with an instinctive clearance from the goal line.
WORST
-Theo Walcott, MF, Southampton: The forward had, and blew, his chances to win the game for Southampton.
– Casemiro, MF, Man United: His challenge on Carlos Alcaraz was high and he can have few complaints about the VAR review.
– Wout WeghorstST, united man: He spent most of the first half arguing with the referee and was sacrificed early following Casemiro’s red card.
Highlights and Highlights
Did this seem like the right decision for Casemiro? It really does.
Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is known for his set-piece heroics, coming very close to breaking the tie with an excellent free-kick.
Was a red card the correct penalty for this entry by Casemiro? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ZWi3qhc2kI
— ESPNFC (@ESPNFC) March 12, 2023
In the end, United kept trying… but a point feels like its fair share considering how much the game changed with Casemiro’s red card in the first half.
After the game: what the players/coaches had to say
“A few months ago we would have lost this game. Hopefully this can give us a boost to keep building. In today’s performance you see we can play any team in this league and we just need to keep going.” — Gavin Bazunu, Southampton goalkeeper, to Sky Sports
“I think Casemiro was unlucky. He tried to touch the ball and his foot went high. I think the referees need to show more consistency. Sometimes they get a red card and sometimes they don’t. It’s going to be difficult, he’s a great player. We’ll miss him for four games, but we have a great squad. We have players who come off the bench and do well. We’ll keep working hard.” — Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to Sky Sports on Casemiro’s red card
Key statistics (provided by ESPN Stats & Information research)
– Casemiro: Second red card with Man United (first since February 4 in the Premier League). In 37 official matches for Man United in all competitions, he equals the total number of red cards in his entire Real Madrid career. This equates to the total number of red cards for him (336 games).
– Manchester United fail to score in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since the last two games of the 2021-22 season (4-0 loss to Brighton, 1-0 loss to Palace)
– Via Opta: Casemiro is the first player to receive two red cards in the same Premier League season with Manchester United since Nemanja Vidic in 2013-14.
Until next time
manchester united: Ten Hag’s side have a potentially fun week ahead, with a Europa League round of 16 second leg against Betis on Thursday, and with a 4-1 aggregate lead, setting up the quarter-final clash of the FA Cup on Sunday with Fulham.
Southampton: It’s nothing but Premier League action from here on out for the struggling Saints, who have a midweek game with Brentford (March 15) followed by visiting Tottenham on Saturday.