Manchester United gets away with a draw after Casemiro’s red card


Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 4:53 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 16:56

Manchester United failed to beat Southampton at home: 0-0. Manager Erik ten Hag’s team had to do it with ten men for an hour, after Casemiro was sent off for a hard foul. Southampton made it difficult for United, created several opportunities, but a goal was not possible, partly due to star David de Gea: 0-0. United remain third, but Tottenham, who have played one more game, are only two points behind. Hekkensluiter Southampton collects a point in the fight against relegation.

Ten Hag also made room for Wout Weghorst against Southampton. The striker was at the point of the attack, with Jadon Sancho behind him. Antony and Marcus Rashford covered the flanks, while Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro had to keep the balance in midfield. Ten Hag chose Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphaël Varane, Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw in the back; De Gea defended the goal. Tyrell Malacia again started on the bench.

United had the better of the game in the opening stages. Wan-Bissaka, for example, came through twice dangerously on the right, but lacked overview in front of goal. Not much later, Weghorst also became dangerous, but the striker was just short of tapping in. Moments later, the Dutchman was overlooked by Marcus Rashford, who went for his own success and came across Gavin Bazunu. Southampton came into the game better and through Theo Walcott it almost came 0-1. However, De Gea had an excellent save. After Weghorst killed a header, United ran into big problems. Casemiro hit Carlos Alcaraz’s ankle with a straight leg, after which referee Anthony Taylor showed the Brazilian the red card. United claimed a penalty twice in vain before the break.

To restore balance in midfield, Weghorst was taken off for Scott McTominay. After the break, the Scot unintentionally almost made it 0-1 after he mishit a cross. De Gea kept United going with a supreme effort. Moments later, James Ward-Prowse was still close to the opening goal: his free kick landed on the intersection. The Saints got the next big opportunity through Walcott. The attacker had to recognize his superior one-on-one with De Gea in the Spaniard, who turned out to be an absolute star at United. On the other hand, Bazunu had an equally clever save, narrowly tapping Fernandes’ long shot against the post. The Southampton goalkeeper was lucky that the ball did not roll over the back line.

On the other hand, Kyle Walker-Peters also had a devastating shot. De Gea had no chance, but saw to his relief that the post saved the day. The game continued to go up and down and Ten Hag had Facundo Pellistri and Alejandro Garnacho fill in. The latter was knocked down ten minutes before time in the box. It did not result in a penalty kick, while Garnacho remained battered on the ground. The Argentinian was able to continue playing and saw that both teams had threatening moments in the final phase. However, the last pass never arrived, so the game ended as it started: 0-0.

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 Arsenal 27 21 3 3 37 66
2 Manchester City 27 19 4 4 42 61
3 Manchester United 26 15 5 6 6 50
4 Tottenham Hotspur 27 15 3 9 12 48
5 Liverpool 26 12 6 8 18 42
6 Newcastle United 24 10 11 3 18 41
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 24 11 6 7 14 39
8 Fulham 27 11 6 10 1 39
9 Brentford 25 9 11 5 7 38
10 Chelsea 26 10 7 9 1 37
11 Aston Villa 26 10 5 11 -7 35
12 Crystal Palace 26 6 9 11 -12 27
13 Wolverhampton W. 26 7 6 13 -16 27
14 Nottingham Forest 26 6 8 12 -26 26
15 Everton 27 6 7 14 -18 25
16 Leicester City 26 7 3 16 -9 24
17 West Ham United 26 6 6 14 -10 24
18 AFC Bournemouth 26 6 6 14 -26 24
19 Leeds United 26 5 8 13 -11 23
20 Southampton 26 6 4 16 -21 22