JEKYLL AND HYDE UNITED
Cavani displays his killer touch in dramatic ending
THEY move in strange waves, this lot. Up and down they go, rising and falling, flying and dying, sometimes both in the space of one game, which is exactly what happened here.
Two sides of Manchester United’s complex personality, packaged in one absurd win. For 45 minutes, they played pretty well and walked off at 2-0 down, beaten by their failure to grasp the obvious risks that come with conceding set-pieces to James Ward-Prowse.
For the next 45, they dominated one of the best sides in the division, scored three goals through the combination of Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani, and threatened more.
At times, they were very good, at others some way beneath. In some respects, that is them in a nutshell in t he seven years since the old knight left; it is certainly a tale of their 2020-21 campaign.
But maybe a corner is being turned. This was a fourth-straight win and a club record, as it was also an eighth successive a way victory in the league.
At a club of this size, distinctions such as the latter are hard won, so credit to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for that, and for riding the storm that had brought questions over his future as recently as November 7, when a defeat by Everton would really have brought the manure above his ankles. But t hat was t hen, and now, with a quartet of wins, they are picking up speed and places in the table. The question is will it last? Another false dawn, perhaps? There have been so many this season already — games like Tottenham and Arsenal at home and Istanbul Basaksehir away that have served as brick walls to all momentum and trust. So thinking it will be so different this time has a naive ring to it.
At the very least, though, United have the tools for progress. Plenty has been said about Fernandes, and here he scored his sixth in four games to set a comeback in motion after Jan Bednarek and WardProwse put Southampton 2-0 up.
From there, at 2-1 down, it was over to another cog of capability in the United machine, as Cavani (left) came off the bench and scored two headers to win it, the second in stoppage time. He is an old dog at 33 but like an ageing heavyweight never loses power, Cavani will never lose the killer touch in front of goal.
United played well. They made 15 chances and had 50-per- cent possession. The hints of this result were in the air from a bright start, as they controlled the early play, which was a surprise as Solskjaer had gambled on going with a diamond in midfield, with Donny van de Beek handed a first league start on the left point. The system that had worked so brilliantly against RB Leipzig was ineffective in United’s subsequent defeat against Arsenal and had been left on the shelf since. So, what to make of dusting it off against a side known for the intensity of their press? It worked a charm. Mason Greenwood had a good chance inside six minutes and Fernandes had another shot deflected wide. At that point, and for around 20 minutes or so, it was all United, but soon Southampton’s press started to work and the midfield became theirs. They also had WardProwse. His delivery from a corner for the first goal was brilliant, with the ball dropping in at the near post for Bednarek to head home. Both Greenwood and Fernandes were t hen denied by saves from Alex McCarthy before Fred fouled Moussa Djenepo in the Ward-Prowse kill-zone. The Saints man whipped his shot too far right for David de Gea. To compound the problem, the keeper collided with the post and came off at the break. That was also the introduction of Cavani and the plot twist. After early chances for Marcus Rashford and the Uruguayan, Cavani crossed for Fernandes to turn and finish for 2-1. The roles then reversed as Cavani scored his first of headers, re-routing a Fernandes strike past McCarthy. A draw would have been a good result in the context, but Cavani’s late header, meeting Rashford’s cross, made things altogether better.