The remarkable stats behind Man Utd's 9-0 rout of Southampton

 

After set-backs against Sheffield United and Arsenal in back-to-back Premier League matches, Manchester United simply could not afford another when they hosted Southampton on Tuesday night.

 

United didn't capitalise against an under-strength Arsenal side at the weekend but they certainly did against Southampton. Records tumbled at Old Trafford, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side ran out 9-0 winners. An enquiry will be held by Southampton, so what exactly went down between the two sides. Here we shed light on an extraordinary evening in Manchester.

 

Man Utd equal a Premier League record

 

Manchester United became only the third side ever to win a Premier League game by a nine-goal winning margin, with both teams involved in the other two instances. Southampton were defeated 9-0 by Leicester in 2019, while United first set the record with a 9-0 thumping of Ipswich Town in 1995. United ran out of time to equal their club record 10-0 victory over Anderlecht in 1956.

 

Ralph Hasenhuttl's unwanted record

 

Ralph Hasenhuttl is unsurprisingly the first manager to lose a Premier League home match 9-0 and an away match by the same scoreline. Southampton bounced back superbly when dished out a 9-0 loss by Leicester in October 2019, transforming into one of the strongest sides in the league. From that moment to the end of the season, Southampton actually collected more points than Leicester. They will hope for a similar response here, though with injuries and suspensions decimating the squad that looks tough.

 

Luke Shaw in career best form 

 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was rightly praised for the way he handled Paul Pogba's future in December and he also deserves a lot of credit for getting the best from Luke Shaw. The 25-year-old is hitting the heights United expected when they signed him from Southampton in 2014. Shaw certainly enjoyed playing against his boyhood club, registering two assists in a Premier League game in his career. In fact, Shaw created five goalscoring opportunities against Southampton, a personal record in a Premier League game in his career. He only played 45 minutes!

 

Alexandre Jankewitz's nightmare debut

 

Injuries forced Ralph Hasenhuttl to hand full Premier League debuts to Southampton youngsters and neither Kayne Ramsay nor Alexandre Jankewitz will want to think about it anytime soon. More so the latter, who was shown his marching orders with less than two minutes on the clock after a horror, groin-high tackle on Scott McTominay. Jankewitz's agent reportedly tried to broker a January exit at the end of the window and his performance at Old Trafford is unlikely to see him turn out for Southampton for the very distant future, if again. With one red card and four yellow cards in 10 appearances for Southampton's U23s this season, the 19-year-old looks to have disciplinary problems.

 

Marcus Rashford overtakes Eric Cantona

 

Marcus Rashford latched on to Mason Greenwood's pin-point pull-back to double United's lead early in the second half and in doing so it saw him overtake Eric Cantona on the club's all-time scoring list on 83 goals. Next in Rashford's sights is David Beckham. Rashford is still 170 behind leading scorer Wayne Rooney but at the age of 23 who is to say he won't chase down the former United and England captain.

 

United sharing the goals

 

Premier League routs are usually dominated by one or two scorers but that wasn't the case on Tuesday. In fact, United became only the second side to have seven different scorers in a Premier League match, after Chelsea against Aston Villa in December 2012. Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Dan James all got in on the action. They would have had eight had Jan Bednarek not diverted into his own goal, with Fred waiting behind him for a simple tap in. 

 

 

Good title omen for United

 

Southampton have come to prove tricky opponents for Manchester United in recent years. In fact, this is the first season they have done the double over Southampton since the 2012/13 season - their last title-winning campaign. Certainly in the best position to win the Premier League since then, perhaps this is another sign Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side can go all the way.

 

Jan Bednarek turns in the worst performance of the season

 

Jan Bednarek was given an early bath by Mike Dean after conceding a penalty on Anthony Martial to follow up on his first-half own goal, as the Southampton defender garnered the lowest WhoScored rating in a Premier League match this season (3.80). The previous incumbent of the lowest rated performance this season was Adrian in Liverpool's 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa (3.82). At least in Bednarek's case, Anthony Martial is said to have even admitted it wasn't a penalty and Southampton should at least overturn his suspension. Bednarek scored in the reverse meeting with United this season but Tuesday night was tough for him.

 

United camped in Southampton's half

 

The pressure from United was relentless from the outset. As soon as Southampton were reduced to 10 men, United sensed blood and went for it. Even at half-time, Solskjaer brought off Luke Shaw and sent on Donny van de Beek. Eventually ending the game with nine men, it's no surprise United spent most of the game in and around the Southampton penalty area. In fact, United set a Premier League record for the season for the most successful final third passes in a game this season (266). Southampton, by contrast, completed nine - the lowest figure in a league game this season. Manchester City previously had the record from their 5-0 win over West Brom last month (257).

 

Bruno Fernandes' perfect WhoScored 10 rating

 

After going five games without a goal in the Premier League, Bruno Fernandes snapped his barren run with, of course, a penalty in United's victory. The 26-year-old, who just celebrated his first year at United, also provided two assists to claim the first perfect WhoScored 10 rating of his Premier League career. In fact, Fernandes is only the second United player to garner such a rating in a Premier League game since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and first since Paul Pogba managed it in back-to-back games in December 2018.

The remarkable stats behind Man Utd's 9-0 rout of Southampton