United fail to hit CL places as they ship late leveller

MANCHESTER UNITED’S top-four hopes suffered a dramatic late setback as Southampton snatched a draw at the death.

With United looking to have moved up to third with a fifth straight league win, Saints plundered a late equaliser through sub Michael Obafemi.

That leveller means United stay in fifth, behind Chelsea and Leicester, as the battle for Champions League football took another dramatic twist.

United seemed to have done enough to secure three points but a lapse in concentration from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men at a corner cost them dearly and may yet cost them a place at Europe’s top table.

Captain Harry Maguire, said: “We are disappointed. We got control of the game and had numerous chances to finish it off but we were not at our best.

“We brought pressure on to ourselves but felt we did enough to win the game.”

Solskjaer’s unchanged line-up was testimony to United’s form since football’s return.

The first chance fell to them after nine minutes, with Alex McCarthy having to look sharp to palm away Antony Martial’s effort.

The miss proved costly as Saints took the lead with Nathan Redmond picking out Scotland ace Stuart Armstrong to fire an unstoppable shot beyond David De Gea.

But United drew level after 20 minutes, Martial showing strength and tenacity to feed the ball to Marcus Rashford and he made no mistake, drilling the ball low into the far corner.

And Frenchman Martial

DAVID McDONNELL produced another breathtaking strike soon after.

Bruno Fernandes flicked the ball on to Martial, who only had the goal in his sights before cutting inside and launching an unstoppable shot past McCarthy.

Devastating going forward, United continued to look vulnerable at the back, the back four looking nervy every time Southampton advanced on their area with intent.

The visitors were lucky not to