Manchester United have been held to a goalless draw by Southampton in Saturday’s late kickoff in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have now drawn their last three in the top flight, and remain down in third – one point off second-placed Chelsea, who thumped Stoke City at Stamford Bridge earlier in the afternoon.
Runaway leaders Manchester City, meanwhile, are now 14 points above Jose Mourinho’s side with a game in hand.
Below are four talking points from the clash at Old Trafford.
United end 2017 with three straight league draws
It would be fair to say that it has been an up and down 2017 for United. Mourinho landed the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League during his first season in charge, but the Red Devils finished down in sixth position in the Premier League table – 24 points off the champions Chelsea.
United would have fancied their chances of ending the year with a comfortable win over an out-of-form Southampton team, but it was a very poor performance from the 20-time English champions, who have some serious problems to address in the New Year.
Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard all missed fairly straightforward headers in the first period, while the hosts had a strong shout for a penalty that was ignored by referee Craig Pawson.
Paul Pogba had the ball in the back of the net for United in the 81st minute, but the Frenchman was offside, and that just about summed up the night for Mourinho’s side. It was just not good enough once again from a team that should have ended 2017 with a convincing win.
Mourinho’s frowns were accepted by the United supporters while the team was winning, but that is not the case at the moment.
Lukaku will surely miss out on Everton return with head injury
Lukaku’s night ended in the 14th minute when he was stretchered off the pitch following a clash of heads with Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt. No blame can be attached to the Saints centre-back, but it was a nasty blow for Lukaku, who could now be set for a spell on the sidelines.
The fact that Lukaku had to be given oxygen was worrying, but it was later revealed that the Belgian was not heading for hospital, which was the best possible news that could have followed a potentially serious incident.
Mourinho claimed ahead of the match that Lukaku was in need of a rest having started and finished every Premier League match this season ahead of this game, but that came to an end when he was stretched off the field.
It is now extremely unlikely that Lukaku will turn out for United away to Everton on New Year’s Day. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is out for a month with an injury and it was Rashford that replaced Lukaku in the final third for this match. Anthony Martial is also an option through the middle, and it will be very interesting to see what route Mourinho takes at Goodison Park.
Mkhitaryan fails to take his chance for United
For the first time since November 5, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was named in United’s Premier League XI. The Armenian has been seriously out of favour in recent weeks, but was given the chance to impress against Southampton.
Some will say that Mourinho selected Mkhitaryan to put him in the shop window ahead of January, but whatever the reason for the 28-year-old’s start; it was a disappointing night for the former Borussia Dortmund attacker.
He over-hit one cross in the early stages after a quick counter-attack, and that was a feature of his first-half performance as a series of balls went into the arms of the Southampton goalkeeper, or drifted over the head of his teammates.
The attacker made a decent start to the second period as he threatened in possession, but his final pass was too often wayward. The Armenian was ultimately replaced by Martial in the 65th minute, and it remains to be seen whether he will be seen in a United shirt again.
Under-pressure Pellegrino picks up a welcome point
When considering that Claude Puel was sacked by Southampton after leading the club to the League Cup final and a top-eight finish in the Premier League, things are not looking great for current boss Mauricio Pellegrino.
Pellegrino joined the Saints off the back of a very impressive season at Alaves, but the 46-year-old has struggled to make things work in the Premier League. It is now eight games since Southampton won in the top flight, but a point at Old Trafford has seen them rise into 13th position in the table.
The South Coast club have a massive home game against Crystal Palace to come on January 2, before visiting Watford in their next league match on January 13. Sooner or later the winless run will come to an end, but it is unclear whether Pellegrino will have the chance to turn things around at St Mary’s.
Shane Long led the line in the absence of Charlie Austin, while Nathan Redmond was also left on the bench as Sofiane Boufal and Dusan Tadic started out wide.
James Ward-Prowse brought a smart save from United goalkeeper David de Gea in the early moments, before the same two players locked horns in the 19th minute, with the Spanish stopper winning the battle once again. Hoedt then missed a brilliant chance for the visitors when he failed to make proper contact on a super corner from Ward-Prowse.
Southampton did pretty well in the first period, and had a brilliant chance early in the second, with De Gea somehow keeping out Long. Tadic then headed over 20 minutes from time as United continued to look unsure at the back. When considering that Austin, Ryan Bertrand and Cedric were all absent, it was an even better point for the visitors.
Hoedt had a fine game at centre-back, while Ward-Prowse and Jack Stephens were also very good for the Saints at Old Trafford.
There will be money to spend in January following the £75m sale of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, and Southampton are certainly in need of some fresh blood despite a much-improved performance, and unlikely point, on Saturday night.
