Match date: 8 December 2014

Ronald Koeman and Louis van Gaal aren’t the best of friends at this point despite both being Dutch, Koeman working as van Gaal’s in the late 1990’s at Barcelona, and the two working together (sourly) at Ajax. It was the well publicised fall out at Ajax, where Koeman was coaching with van Gaal as technical director, where the relationship became turbulent. Fast forward almost a decade and they face one another in the English Premier League, with both managing sides near the top of the table.

Koeman’s Southampton have done well so far this season, although they’ve recently dipped in form due to injuries and quality of the opposition. Koeman continued with a 4-2-3-1, with Steven Davis partnering Wanyama in the absence of both Cork and Schneiderlin. Tadic played behind Pelle with Long and Mane on either side.

Van Gaal reverted Manchester United back to his 3-5-2 system, having beaten Stoke 2-1 in a 4-3-3. McNair, Smalling, and Rojo lined up as the centre backs with Ashley Young on the left and Antonio Valencia on the right.

Southampton Press, Manchester United Struggle

A very poor performance from Manchester United overall and it started right from the beginning of the match. Credit must be given to Southampton, however, as they controlled the match really well both when they had the ball and the pressure that they put Manchester United under with their pressing.

With three at the back and wing backs, Manchester United were always going to have problems if Southampton got sustained possession in the final third of the field. This is because, as the opposition retains possession, it forces the wing backs to drop, turning the back three into a back five. Along with the wing backs being pinned back, with Southampton playing in a 4-2-3-1, Manchester United were unable to play into midfield easily as the midfield three was matched by Southampton’s midfield. So when the ball was won back by Manchester United, they struggled to find a consistent out ball and Southampton were able to win the ball high up the pitch a significant number of times.

When Manchester United were able to get on the ball, they struggled to get forward as the midfield three of Carrick (for about 40 minutes), Mata and Fellaini were slow to offer support to van Persie and Rooney, both who were force to drop deeper to to try to get on the ball. Southampton were able to get numbers behind the ball quickly as well, which made it hard for Manchester United to play passes forward, not to mention penetrative passes, and forced them back to McNair, Smalling, and Rojo.

Van Gaal Brings on Herrera, Moves Carrick Back

In his post match interview, van Gaal said that he brought off Paddy McNair because he had made too many mistakes, which is a fair reason to do so, even if it is just a few minutes from half time. Along with this, however, was what Carrick brought to the back three. He is a composed player and passes the ball well, which is what Manchester United needed coming out of the back. As mentioned above, Manchester United struggled to work the ball into midfield when they won it back and so with Carrick’s passing, they would have someone in the back three that had better ability in finding an out ball.

The move caused initial confusion both on the field, with the commentators, and even Manchester United’s official Twitter page. Was van Gaal changing to a back four? No, and for the reasons stated above, it was clear that that would have been the wrong move. Carrick’s introduction into the back line and Herrera’s presence in midfield helped Manchester United find a bit more composure going forward and pushed Southampton a little deeper, allowing the back three a bit more time on the ball.

Southampton Wasteful, Manchester United Win

For all of Southampton’s good play, they lacked conversion of their chances. Long had two very good chances, one that he shot well over the bar and another that he headed directly into the chest of De Gea, while Pelle, too, blasted over the Manchester United goal. The Saints worked the ball well into wide areas, especially down the left through Bertrand and Mane, and a lot of their best chances came from balls into the Manchester United penalty area from wide positions, but the finishing was very poor.

Even Pelle’s goal had a bit of fortune to it as fell into his path after Tadic’s shot, from a Long cross, was blocked. Pelle’s shot was redirected into the top of the net by a Carrick slide.

Manchester United, regardless of their overall poor play, were able to win the match with two goals from Robin van Persie. They struggled in midfield and Rooney struggled to link play, but van Persie was able to anticipate a poor back pass to Forster and later was free at the back post to tap home on a Rooney free kick. Not even the win, however, could gloss over the poor performance. Manchester United created the fewest amount of chances in a Premier League game in 11 years.

Conclusion

Manchester United have now won five matches on the trot, while Southampton have lost three in a row. Koeman’s team were by far the better side in all areas expect their conversion rate.

Both teams made mistakes leading to the goals. Fonte’s poor back pass allowed van Persie to beat Forster 1v1, while Fellaini played a really poor pass in midfield that allowed Southampton to intercept and get the ball into the Manchester United box for their goal. Van Persie’s winning goal was really down to poor marking and Forster staying on his line despite the trajectory of Rooney’s ball in.

Manchester United play Liverpool at the weekend, while Southampton face Burnley.