THE VERDICT: UNITED 3 SOUTHAMPTON 2
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer is responsible for a number of entries in the pantheon of great United comebacks and this was his first as a manager. It might not rival Liverpool or Bayern but the caretaker manager and his staff members partied like it was 1999 on the bench.
From 1-0 down at half-time, United were 2-1 up before the hour mark, appropriately via a substitution. Diogo Dalot, the creator for Andreas Pereira’s superb leveller, also occupies the number 20 shirt Solskjaer donned for 11 years. “What a feeling, what a night,” the United supporters chorused. Their party was crashed by James WardProwse. Then Romelu Lukaku restarted it.
“There you go. Pogba!!!” Solskjaer tweeted following the late revival against Middlesbrough two seasons ago. “Stretford End sucking the ball in, AGAIN. You’ll experience many of them Jose!” Solskjaer has experienced his first.
As Sir Alex Ferguson, watching from the directors’ box next to Mick Hucknall, used to say, they do not make it easy for themselves. Lukaku’s second came in the 89th minute to settle a humdinger of a contest and end United’s winless home run.
United went one better than the Burnley blemish, the first of the three enriched by a late comeback from 2-0 down. Against Southampton, the Reds ended the Old Trafford hex stirringly; thirdchoice goalkeeper Lee Grant backslapped Kieran McKenna and pointed at him as the Irishman hugged Solskjaer and Michael Carrick. Pereira’s compatriot Fred and fellow substitutes Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo piled on during the celebrations. Lukaku was joined by academy pair Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong, considered to summon a winner. Both Pereira and Lukaku atoned for careless first halves that threatened United’s unbeaten league run under Solskjaer. Pereira, complicit in the Burnley draw, was naive on the ball at times and there were howls of despair from the Stretford End and Scoreboard End at Lukaku’s maddening finishing. Pereira has technically entered the final four months of his United deal but, unlike Antonio Valencia’s, the club must trigger a one-year extension. In a week where he has missed easier chances and scored tougher openings, Lukaku decided another Premier League fixture. His goals have earned United six points and he went some way to changing the tune of the thousands of fans who lamented his heavy first touch and squandered shots. He now has 13 goals this season. The manner of United’s result against an energetic Saints was also enhanced Samuel Luckhurst Pereira (53), Lukaku (59, 88) Valery (26), Ward-Prowse (75) 64% 36% 16 9 9 7 74,459 Pogba, Lukaku Bertrand Stuart Attwell by the earlier 1-1 draw in the North London derby at Wembley. United are now back in fourth and three points off Tottenham, identified as ‘catchable’ by Solskjaer over a month ago.
As draining as it is, United supporters must have missed this agony. Former City academy goalkeeper Angus Gunn superbly tipped Lukaku’s drilled drive past the post on three minutes and the onslaught intensified.
United earned four corners inside the first five and Lukaku ought to have converted from the final set-piece but his bundled effort was repelled by the busy Gunn, also forced to palm over a cross Pereira overhit.
Lukaku’s profligacy has been punished by numerous opponents this season and Southampton became the latest. There was a harbinger when Jannik Vestergaard header over unmarked from a 10th minute corner and Chris Smalling needlessly tugged the onrushing Ryan Ber-