By Jonathan Gault
After another full slate of games in the Barclays Premier
League, Manchester United once again found itself in one of weekend’s most
interesting fixtures. The Red Devils held a tenuous 1-0 lead late at Old
Trafford against Southampton on Saturday. But United, so often the
beneficiaries of late-game heroics, were the victims on Saturday as Saints
captain Adam Lallana grabbed a late equalizer to secure a point for
Southampton.
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| Photo Courtesy of Reuters |
The Saints earned their point, as they were unafraid of
taking the game to David Moyes’ men in front of 75,220 at Old Trafford.
Nathaniel Clyne made several attacking runs from right back and Morgan
Schneiderlin and Lallana created opportunities out of the midfield. United had
their chances, but Soutthampton’s defense has been its calling card this
season, as goalkeeper Artur Boruc held firm after allowing an early goal to the
deadly Robin van Persie.
While United’s continued struggles – they’re in 8th place,
but are closer to 18th than they are to 7th – are one of the season’s biggest
storylines, Southampton’s surprising start is also worthy of note. The Saints
sit in sixth with 15 points, but are just two points behind second-place
Chelsea. They’ve gotten big results on the road – a win at Liverpool and now a
draw at Manchester United – and have the best defense in the Premier League,
surrendering just three goals in their eight matches. There’s a really nice
core in place at St. Mary’s, with youth everywhere. Luke Shaw (18), Victor
Wanyama (22) and Nathaniel Clyne (22) all played pivotal roles for Southampton
on Saturday, and James Ward-Prowse (18) has played consistently well off the
bench this season. The Saints likely won’t be able to hang on to everyone in
the long term, but right now Mauricio Pochettino has the team playing well and
threatening for a spot in Europe. They will need to take advantage of their
next three games (vs. Fulham, at Stoke, vs. Hull) because beginning on November
23, they face a brutal 15-day stretch: at Arsenal, at Chelsea, vs. Aston Villa,
vs. Manchester City. If Southampton can stay in contention through those
matches, it will have to be taken seriously as a threat for Europe.
Most of the weekend’s other results were fairly predictable.
Top-five teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Man. City and Tottenham all took care of
business against inferior teams, bringing about little change at the top. The
only top-five squad not to take full points was Liverpool, who had to come from
behind twice to secure a draw at ten-man Newcastle. The Magpies had to play the
entire second half without the dismissed Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa but held on to grab
a point in the face of a Liverpool onslaught. After a goal for England against
Montenegro on October 11, Daniel Sturridge remained top of the Premier League
goalscoring charts by grabbing his seventh of the season to bring the teams
level in the 72nd minute.
Arsenal continued to look great and made it six wins out of
seven with a 4-1 win over Norwich. The Mesut Ozil signing has made Arsene
Wenger look like a genius, and the German scored two second-half goals to help
seal the victory. However, he wasn’t involved in Jack Wilshere’s opening goal,
the moment of the match and a contender for goal of the month. In the 18th
minute, Wilshere played a short pass to Santi Cazorla just outside the Norwich
penalty area, setting off a string of one-touch passes. Cazorla tapped to
Olivier Giroud, who tapped back to Wilshere. Wilshere returned Giroud’s pass
with a flick of the outside of his cleat and before the Norwich defenders could
register the pass, Giroud stuck out his foot to spring Wilshere with a perfect
chip. It was a simple finish for Wilshere to cap a move that more closely resembled
a magic trick than a Premier League goal.
The top teams will play in Europe in midweek before the
Premier League resumes on Saturday. Manchester City’s visit to Chelsea is the
best among four games on Sunday.
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