It wouldn’t have been undeserved if the guests from the far south of England took al three points from the Theater of Dreams. The monumental Manchester United stadium was once a fortress – at the moment it looks like a house of cards. Lively Southampton head home with a point and a lot to say to referee Stuart Attwell – final score 1-1.Ralph Hasenhüttl and his Southampton side came to Old Trafford buoyed by their impressive away win at Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, and looking to upset the odds once again. They were really close but the Red Devils were fortunate and endured.The top-four chasing side were dealt a blow while the Saints continue an impressive run of form – one defeat in their last ten matches.As expected, the game began in a frantic manner, with both sides playing with a positive, attacking mindset. Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with a fantastic chance to open the scoring inside ten minutes but failed to end his longest goal drought in over a decade. Slowly bettering Jadon Sancho found the Portuguese star, CR7 went around Fraser Forster but the goal attempt was cleared off the line by Romain Perraud.One might think the prolific scorer is going through a confidence crisis – opportunities like these are usually a piece of cake for one of the best ever.United kept going at it and it was the hosts who found the breakthrough. They took advantage of the Saints pushing men forward – Sancho’s easy tap-in came after Marcus Rashford broke through on goal on the right flank.Regardless of trailing, the guests from the south coast continued to press and created several goalscoring opportunities. If it wasn’t for David de Gea (again the saviour of Rangnick’s squad), Southampton would have equalised or even taken the lead before the half time break. The Spaniard reacted brilliantly to everything coming his way.Despite their positive performances in the opening periods of matches, Red Devils always let the opposition back into the game after taking the lead – and it happened once again. Just three minutes into the second half, Che Adams equalised for Southampton with a clinical finish.United woke up a bit after the leveller, the end-to-end action continued, with both sides keeping their opponents’ goalkeeper busy but neither side managed to take advantage of the chances late on.Few minutes before the final whistle, Man United captain Harry Maguire showed once again that he is not the one to rely on when it comes to safety of Man United’s box. Southampton’s Armando Broja easily passed him by on the left flank, the Albanian got close to De Gea’s goal, hesitated and saw Maguire run into him like a train.The Englishman stepped on Broja’s foot few meters away from Man United’s goal but referee Attwell did not even want to consider checking the situation with his VAR colleagues.Overall, both teams had to settle for a point apiece but it is safe to say that Manchester United are still struggling.Southampton continue to impress under Austrian Hasenhüttl after a difficult start to the campaign. On the other end, will there be Champions League football at the Theater of Dreams next season? Hardly, if United continue this way.PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 25Saturday Man Utd – Southampton 1-1 (1-0)/Sancho 21 – Adams 48/18.00: (2.65) Brentford (3.05) Crystal Palace (3.05)18.00: (2.30) Everton (3.50) Leeds (3.25)18.00: (3.80) Watford (3.15) Brighton (2.25)20.30: (16.0) Norwich (7.75) Man.City (1.20)Sunday17.00: (11.0) Burnley (6.50) Liverpool (1.28)17.00: (2.90) Newcastle (3.30) Aston Villa (2.65)17.00: (1.70) Tottenham (3.70) Wolverhampton (5.90)19.30: (3.05) Leicester (3.40) West Ham (2.45)Chelsea – Arsenal POSTPONED***odds are subject to change***
