Mata left baffled by United’s goal woes at St Mary’s

JUAN MATA is frustrated that Manchester United keep falling short due to a lack of killer instinct. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men started the season with a thumping 4-0 win against Chelsea, but things have gone awry in front of goal since then. United blew the chance to win at Wolves and that 1-1 draw was followed by a chastening 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend. Saturday’s trip to Southampton was another winless match for the Reds, who saw Daniel James’ brilliant opener cancelled out by Jannik Vestergaard. Even Kevin Danso’s second-half dismissal for the hosts could not inspire United, who now have five points from their opening four matches. ‘Two points dropped,’ said attacking midfielder Mata. ‘We were expecting Southampton (to have) chances and play good football for some moments. ‘We have to come to these kind of games and win and come back to Manchester with three points or the feeling is frustration and two points dropped again. ‘When you score the first goal, have the ball and you seem that you are having the tempo of the game, you need to kill (it off) and score the second goal.’ Those comments echoed Solskjaer’s sentiments and Mata knows they need to up their game. ‘We started the season really well against Chelsea at home, winning 4-0. But at Wolves we dropped two points,’ said the Spaniard. ‘We lost against Crystal Palace at home which shouldn’t happen again, and today another two points dropped. ‘We need to find this consistency and add three points after three points. That’s our main objective. ‘We are deserving more in almost every game but deserving is not enough: you have to get it.’ Saints rode their luck at times but defended well on the whole, with Vestergaard impressing at the back and scoring an impressive leveller. ‘We’re very happy with a point,’ said the centre-back. ‘We were rewarded for the hard work we put in.’