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Season of failure ends for Manchester United with little more than a whimper Manchester United's Ryan Giggs undecided after draw at Southampton
(about 4 hours later)
On a day when their historic rivals contested the Premier League title, Manchester United produced another performance that showed why they could not even reach the Europa League. Uninspired and leaden-footed for long periods, United fell behind at St Mary's to a goal from Rickie Lambert before equalising in the second half with a rare flash of class from Juan Mata. After that the match petered out as both teams seemed to turn their thoughts to the future. On a day when their rivals contested the Premier League title, Manchester United produced another performance that showed why they could not even reach the Europa League. Leaden-footed for long periods, they fell behind at St Mary's to a goal from Rickie Lambert, before equalising in the second half with a rare flash of class from Juan Mata. The match then petered out as both teams seemed to turn their thoughts to the future: rebuilding begins immediately for both clubs.
United fans spent part of the game entertaining themselves with their repertoire of anti-England chants but that is unlikely to have vexed the watching Roy Hodgson, who was treated to excellent displays by Lambert, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw the day before announcing his World Cup squad. Ryan Giggs admitted that his brief reign as Manchester United manager is set to end this week, most likely with the appointment of Louis van Gaal, while Mauricio Pochettino suggested that he will take a lot of persuading to remain at Southampton. Furthermore, both teams fielded players who might have been making their final appearances for their clubs, with several Southampton youngsters likely to be the subject of summer bids from title-chasing clubs and several United players likely to take a step down.
For United this was more than just the end of the season, it was the end of an era. The same might be true for Southampton, though for different reasons. Southampton's success this term could lead to more monied suitors luring away their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, along with several of their key players; while United's campaign of failure is set to result in the arrival of Louis van Gaal and the departure of several players who for years were fixtures at Old Trafford. Three of the back four that began for United here probably will not be at the club next season and it would be no surprise if one of them, Patrice Evra, was replaced by the youngster who was his counterpart in this game, United being among several clubs coveting Luke Shaw.
For starters, three of the back four that began for United here are unlikely to be at the club next season and it would be no surprise if one of them, Patrice Evra, were replaced by the youngster who was his counterpart in this game, United being among several clubs coveting Shaw. Another Southampton player likely to face a big decision over the summer is Lallana, who, as ever, was involved in everything inventive that the home team did here. He might have won a penalty in the sixth minute when the ball came off him and appeared to strike Nemanja Vidic on the arm, though the defender surely had no possibility of avoiding it, and three minutes later he applied a clever flick to a long shot by Victor Wanyama but that was not enough to wrongfoot David de Gea. In front of the watching England manager, Roy Hodgson, Shaw and Adam Lallana were the best players on the pitch, both heavily involved in everything inventive that Southampton did, especially in a first half dominated by the hosts. Shaw made regular incursions from the left and headed narrowly over the bar early on after an exchange of passes with Lallana.
United's central midfield trio of Mata, Shinji Kagawa and Darren Fletcher were being outperformed by Morgan Scheiderlin, Wanyama and Jack Cork but it was another powerful run in-field by Shaw that created the next opening and the 18-year-old nearly completed it too, heading just over after getting the ball back from Lallana. United were being overrun in midfield and Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were stodgy in central defence. After the Serb was dispossessed by Victor Wanyama in the 24th minute, a curling shot from Lallana forced a save from David de Gea. Two minutes later Vidic was beaten in the air by Lambert, who inadvertently bloodied the defender's nose with his elbow. To the fury of United, the referee, Mike Dean, allowed play to continue and Steve Davis slipped in Lambert to finish smartly from 12 yards. A controversial goal but there was no doubt the better team had the lead.
Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were stodgy in central defence and after the Serb was dispossessed by Wanyama just outside his own box in the 24th minute, a curling shot from Lallana forced a save from De Gea. Two minutes later Vidic was beaten in the air by Lambert, whose elbow caught the defender in the nose. To the fury of the bloodied defender and his team-mates, the referee Mike Dean allowed play to continue and Steven Davis played in Lambert to finish smartly from 12 yards. Giggs replaced Shinji Kagawa with Michael Carrick at half-time in a bid to gain a foothold in midfield. The plan worked, as United improved slightly. They were rewarded with an equaliser in the 54th minute when Mata flighted a delicate free-kick over the wall and into the top corner. That was pretty much it as far as the action was concerned.
United were right to believe Dean should have awarded a free-kick even if the offence did not seem deliberate, but there was no doubt that the better team had the lead. Pochettino then withdrew Lallana and Shaw: he said both were tired but it felt like he was giving the crowd a chance to bid farewell to the players. They may have seen the last of the manager, too: he has a year left on his contract but other clubs admire what he has done at Southampton, who will meet the Argentinian on Monday to establish whether they can make the sort of investment to convince him to stay.
Southampton continued to carry more threat for the remainder of the first half, although Chris Smalling dragged a 20-yard shot wide on the half-hour mark after a promising United break. For what was probably his final team-talk as United manager, Ryan Giggs had to find a way to lift the visitors. He chose to replace Kagawa with Michael Carrick in a bid to gain a foothold in midfield in the second half. The plan worked. "We're going to sit down and talk," said Pochettino. "This is the end of a five-season project that started with Markus Liebherr buying the club and appointing Nicolas Cortese as chairman. This project has now come to an end and we achieved what we wanted, to take the club from League 1 and establish it in the Premier League. Now a new project has to start.The board has to decide how that happens. Whether it's a two-year, three-year, four-year or five-year project, we'll see."
United began the second period with more urgency and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 54th minute after Wanyama brought down Danny Welbeck at the edge of the area. Mata flighted a delicate free-kick over the wall and into the top corner. Mata, enjoying the platform given to him by Carrick, remained influential after that, and Adnan Januzaj became more prominent too. In the 65th minute the winger clipped in a cross that Fletcher nodded narrowly wide. Giggs knows he will not remain United manager but gave no indication about his next move. "The managerial situation will probably be sorted out in the next week and then I'll need to think about my own position – whether to play on or not, to stay on in the staff and what position that's going to be, whether I take a year out of football, these are the decisions I have to make. I'll look at everything."
With over 20 minutes to go Pochettino gave an indication that pursuing victory was no longer the priority of the day: he withdrew Lallana, presumably to give home fans a chance to show the player their appreciation – possibly for the last time. Ten minutes later there was a similar ceremony for Shaw. Man of match Luke Shaw(Southampton)