Aveek Chaudhuri, February 2, 2021

On Tuesday, Manchester United completely annihilated Southampton with a score of 9-0. That's right, the Reds put 9 past the Saints. The game was just destined to go in Manchester United's favor as Southampton were reduced to 10 men almost immediately after the kick off with Alex Jankewitz getting a red card in the 2' minute. And so as a result, by half time United were up 4-0 with goals from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, an own goal by Jan Bednarek, and Edinson Cavani. In the second half, Anthony Martial added two more while Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay and Daniel James each grabbed a goal. To add to injury, Southampton lost a second player in Bednarek after another red card in the 86' minute right before United added the last 2 goals. This was a day simply to forget for Southampton.

United simply took Southampton by storm with a total of 24 shots attempted with an astounding 14 on target. The fact that United Scored with over 25% of their shots is just mind blowing. On the other side, Southampton managed a mere 3 shots with only 1 on target. It's a miracle Southampton even got 3 shots off with their 24% of possession throughout the entire game as United dominated with the ball continuously at their feets. An overall statistical destruction by United against Southampton. This loss brings flashbacks to Southampton's 9-0 loss to Leicester City last season too, a loss that probably still haunts the Saints. And now, this loss will sting for quite a bit.

This result sees United go level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table with 44 points. However, City do have 2 games in hand compared to United which means there can also be a possible 6 point lead for the Cityzens. Nevertheless, this was a needed performance by United who had a dry spell in the last two games, losing to last place Sheffield United 2-1 and ending the match against Arsenal scoreless, which allowed Liverpool to get within a point behind United. This match will once again remind the league that United are still in the hunt for their first league title in the post-Ferguson era.