YOU CAN CAV IT ALL
Southampton 2 Man Utd 3: Cavani double and Fernandes complete incredible turnaround after awful start for Red Devils
Sponsored by
VETERAN Edinson Cavani rolled back the years to earn an incredible win for Manchester United at Southampton.
On at half-time, the 33-year-old goalscoring hero of Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain created one to get United back in it.
6
6
Cavani drew the Red Devils level with a goal of his own then, in injury time, stooped to conquer with a header that had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dancing with delight.
This was a player neither PSG nor anybody else wanted and United had picked off the shelf on the final day of the transfer window.
There is clearly still plenty to offer from the Uruguayan, who is following the likes of Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to have an unexpected hurrah with United.
Top players like Cavani change games and this game needed changing with United looking down and out at the break.
Perhaps it was their bright start that served to lull United into a false sense of security.
Pinging the ball about, they were denying Southampton any possession and having the run of St Mary’s.
Mason Greenwood had an early chance from a great ball from Alex Telles, but while he rounded the goalkeeper his shot went into the side netting.
Bruno Fernandes then had a long-range shot that caught a slight deflection and the outside of the post.
6
6
Then, totally against the run of play, United were behind in the 23rd minute.
Ward-Prowse delivered a quality inswinging corner to the near post and Jan Bednarek got away from Marcus Rashford and flicked a header in.
They went for a second with Kyle Walker-Peters flicking the post with a low drive.
United responded when a loose pass out from goalkeeper Alex McCarthy was seized upon by Greenwood.
Yet the teenager’s shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
The ball ran loose and Fernandes was onto it but McCarthy made a remarkable stop at full length from point blank range.
How often does a side who have spurned a chance to get level immediately go further behind?
The one thing you don’t do against Southampton is give away a free-kick around the box when Ward-Prowse is the taker.
Pundit Roy likened it to giving away a penalty as he hailed him one of the best deadball specialists in Europe.
So when Fred fouled Moussa Djenepo, alarm bells were ringing.
Captain Ward-Prowse did not disappoint with a curling 33rd minute effort over the wall and inside the near post for his ninth goal direct from a free-kick in the Premier League.
As in the midweek in conceding from a similar position De Gea bizarrely dived behind the line to save it.
It was over the line when his hand made contact, just helping it into the netting.
In doing that, he collided with the post and injured his left knee, which meant a change at the break with Dean Henderson replacing him.
Also on at half-time was Cavani, for Greenwood, and he turned the game on its head.
First with a right wing delivery - picking out Fernandes who took a touch, swivelled and shot into the far corner.
6
6
Most read in Football
That came just short of then hour and the equaliser followed on 74 minutes as Fernandes returned the compliment.
His driven ball into the box took a deflection that flipped it up for Cavani to instinctively head home.
Quite why Jannik Vestergaard was hanging around in the six-yard box to play him onside is another thing.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Incredibly, in injury time Cavani got the winner, meeting Rashford’s ball in with another header that beat McCarthy.
Point made, three earned.
⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford
Edinson Cavani joins Man Utd in training for the first time
Topics