Manchester United

On the latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast, Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath reviewed United's 3-0 win at Southampton, looked at the impact of the two summer arrivals from Bayern Munich and discussed whether Amad Diallo could become a star in the future.

On Diallo, Drinkwater said: "I'm looking at him and I'm thinking we could have something special with that lad - he knows when to cut inside, he knows when to use his speed, he knows when to go direct.

"He's not afraid at taking on players, particularly in the final third. He causes panic in full-backs, he is the sort of player based on his performances so far this season - I think he has nailed down that spot.

"I think Amad Diallo has to start games now."

Joe McGrath agreed: "Amad has definitely been superb - his technical ability. He's 22 and he's got such an incredible career ahead of him.

"If he masters his game this season that is a seven/eight/nine year career ahead of him where he's going to be such an incredible footballer and a talent.

"I'd like to see him get a little bit more aggressive and then I think he's going to be a perfect player. Add a touch more aggression to his game and I think he is a world star."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester United cannot become the team Erik ten Hag wants them to be until they have a recognised left-footed player filling the left-back role.

We are now over a month into the season and Ten Hag is still not willing to give a comeback date for Luke Shaw.

There must be a very real fear when Shaw does come back, he will be at risk of a repeat injury or a related one.

Given the 29-year-old has not featured for his club since February, it hardly creates a backdrop that would allow Ten Hag to be confident about Shaw's ongoing contribution.

It must heighten the chances of United entering the transfer market in January, either to buy someone or sign them on loan. The current position is unsustainable.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Barnsley (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There are no new injury concerns as Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have all recovered from the minor knocks they sustained at Southampton on Saturday.

• Ten Hag confirmed Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw remain side lined.

• On Shaw, who has not played for United since February: "We have a plan in our head when he can be ready, but you’re always dependent on how the progress will go. There are so many factors in the rehab plan, which can either accelerate [it] or slow [it] down."

• He said there is "no doubt we are aiming for a trophy" this season and are therefore taking the Carabao Cup "seriously".

• On rotating the squad: "I hope I have headaches because last year I also had headaches as there were no players available! I have many players available and we can make a selection from game to game."

• In response to whether Antony could play against Barnsley: "We have training every day and the players have to earn the right [to play]. When the attitude is good and they show the performance in training then they will play."

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is fond of reminding everyone he has won two trophies in two seasons at Old Trafford. If that is used as the barometer of success, it puts him second behind Manchester City and Pep Guardiola since he came to the club in 2022.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson among United managers has won trophies in three successive seasons, so there is a piece of history at stake for Ten Hag if he can maintain his silverware-winning ways.

In reality, winning the Premier League is going to be a stretch but the Carabao Cup is certainly within reach. It was Ten Hag's first trophy in 2023 - and United have been given a kind third-round draw at home to League One Barnsley.

And, for once, United head into the game in calm waters following their 3-0 win at Southampton on Saturday.

Ten Hag will be looking ahead later on Monday when he has his pre-match news conference. I wonder if Manuel Ugarte might get his debut?

Come back to this page later on Monday for all the key lines from Ten Hag

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker hopes Marcus Rashford's goal against Southampton on Saturday, his first since March, will "be the catalyst" to him re-gaining his confidence.

"We can only speculate about what has gone on because we don't know whether it has been something at the club or in his personal life, but he has not been the Rashford we have known and seen for a long time," Reo-Coker said on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast.

"There has been a huge loss in confidence from the way he has been playing and the chances he has missed. Hopefully, this can be the catalyst he needs to kick-on and get to that level we are used to seeing him at.

"I want to see him back to that week-in and week-out."

Listen to the discussion on the Football Daily Podcast on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Southampton and Manchester United.

Here are some of your comments:

Southampton fans

Malc: Same old Southampton - good start then fade away. They fail to take advantage of good passages of play. The lack of goals will be our downfall as the defence isn’t good enough.

Daz: Russell Martin is kidding himself with what he says. If you lose four straight games in the Premier League it's an uphill struggle. I'm afraid Saints will be relegated. The style of football Martin plays is not suited for the Premier League - certainly the formation he plays. I'm sorry but it's not looking good for Saints.

Cliff: We had some great positives in the first half - Dibling's performance being the standout. Lots of possession and two or three great chances, but the game turned on the penalty, and not investing in proven Premier league quality has again been our undoing. Based on the teams we have played so far. I just can't see were we will pick up points.

Manchester United fans

Danyal: We played much better after the 35 minutes of the first half. The penalty save by Onana gave everyone a boost - and it's amazing to see De Ligt getting his first goal and Rashford also being on the scoresheet. We need consistency now as the next couple of weeks are so important as we are playing in three different competitions.

Nick: Good to get a win. However, with all that talent they are boring and pedestrian a lot of the time. At the end of the season, goal difference might count and if they upped the tempo in these sort of games they might be in a stronger position. They could possibly have scored four or five.

Philip: Very, very poor at the beginning. They can’t allow weak opposition to have the upper hand for the first 30 minutes. 0-3 was flattering. I didn’t feel United imposed their superiority in the second half. Must dominate and push for more goals. Against better opponents they will fall behind if they don’t exit the traps much quicker.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

The game between Manchester United and Southampton was pretty even before the penalty, with four shots each and Saints enjoying more of the ball.

However, after Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer's spot-kick and then the follow-up header in the 33rd minute, Southampton did not have a shot.

The away side had 16 shots without reply and dominated the ball from then on.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy spoke on Match of the Day about Marcus Rashford's performance against Southampton:

"I thought Manchester United and himself started the game poorly but he grew into the game and looked more like the Rashford we know - causing teams problems with his pace and dynamism. It's his best performance this season.

"When he doesn't think and he's just confident and direct, it makes such a difference. He was using his power and pace to get in behind and scare them.

"In this position [where he scored his goal from], recently we've seen him cross the ball or take too many touches. He wasn't thinking about it, he just got the ball out of his feet and shot.

"He also loves spaces to run into and as soon as he's got that he's a problem to play against."

Manchester United were turned down in their approach to sign 20-year-old Senegal defender Mikayil Faye before he joined Rennes from Barcelona. (Inkubator podcast, via Teamtalk), external

Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl has defended the sale of Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United, saying the club's current centre-backs are more capable of defending higher up the pitch. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Gary Linker brings you highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest

• Aston Villa 3-2 Everton

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Erik ten Hag spoke to BBC Match Day after Manchester United's victory against Southampton: "The start was not easy. I think the penalty was the turnaround in the game and not so far after we scored and that was very important. From that moment on, the game was all ours."

On how Matthijs de Ligt has done: "I'm not surprised. At this moment he is not fit, he's not 100% speed. He needs the games to go up to it. We see glimpses now and once he's there he will do much better. We are happy with him and especially today with his game."

On what Marcus Rashford's goal: "It's very important. For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Once a striker was talking about a ketchup bottle, once it's going, it's coming more."

On Manuel Ugarte: "He didn't work with the team, it was two sessions, one before the break and yesterday. He was the only one later into the team training so only yesterday he had 20 minutes training with the team. We were happy we could bring him today and show what he could deliver to our team."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Southampton’s performance, external

What did you make of Man Utd’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Read the match report and follow reaction

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

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Manchester United bolstered their defence in the summer by bringing in Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, and this performance was just what the player and the Red Devils will have wanted to see.

During the international break he was taken off at half-time while playing for the Netherlands against Germany in the Nations League.

Initially, his struggles continued into this game as he found it difficult to cope with Southampton's dynamic forward line.

But his headed goal to give Manchester United the lead at Southampton appeared to do him the world of good as he became more assured in defence as the game wore on.

Finishing with a clean sheet provides a decent platform for both him and Manchester United to build on as they look to put a mixed start to the season behind them.

There are eight Premier League games on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.

All time are BST

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BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Nottingham Forest

• Aston Villa v Everton

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week four, he takes on Femi Koleoso and Ife Ogunjobi from jazz band Ezra Collective, the 2023 Mercury Music Prize winners.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

With three defeats out of three, Southampton have obviously not made a great start in terms of results.

There has been a lot of scrutiny of the way they play too, and of Saints boss Russell Martin's principles in playing out from the back, with people comparing them to what Burnley were like last season.

Martin has to have a philosophy of how he wants his team to play though, so I do have sympathy for him. I don't believe there is a narrative against him either - it is just that, in their last game, Brentford pressed them high and they made mistakes and conceded some poor goals.

It is going to be difficult for them against Manchester United too. Erik ten Hag's side have their own issues, which means people don't predict United's results, they guess them. But they should - should - have too much quality for Saints.

Southampton will try to be bold but that probably means they will give up chances and, because I've seen Marcus Rashford has been having extra training sessions, I am going to back him and United to take them.

Femi's prediction: 1-1

I still think United are suffering from a Sir Alex Ferguson hangover. They have not sorted the club out upstairs, even though it is more than 10 years since he left. I think they will drop more points here.

Ife's prediction: 1-2

I am going with Manchester United to edge it.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Earlier, we asked you who has made the most Premier League appearances for Manchester United.

The correct answer is Ryan Giggs, who played 632 times in the competition for the Red Devils.

Giggs' tally is a record number of Premier League appearances made for a single club and it puts him third on the all-time list, behind Gareth Barry and James Milner.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has confidence that his side are "in a good direction" despite recent poor performances in the league.

United won their opening match against Fulham but suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Liverpool.

Ten Hag was asked about right-back Diogo Dalot voicing his exasperation that the club have improved in recent times regardless of their setbacks and he agreed.

"Of course when you see the scores, no-one is happy," he said.

"But also players have a very good sense of the process, of the quality of the process. Yeah, and I agree with him.

"Also, when you analyse the games - all the games - so far, we are in a good direction.

"But also - as is normal in a transition period and in a period where you have to build a team - we have to improve. We have to step up."

The Dutchman is in his third season at the club and will be looking for a marked improvement from the previous campaign when they recorded their worst ever position in the league as they finished eighth - eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Ten Hag was keen to praise his players and highlighted the belief he has in his squad: "We have good characters. You feel the team spirit and now it's about getting the patterns and the routines in.

"Once we have that, everyone sees the quality we have on the training pitch."