By beating Manchester United, Southampton showed they are for real

“We are staying up!” cried the travelling Southampton supporters, somewhat in jest, after their magnificent 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford guaranteed them Premier League football for another season. [caption id=“attachment_2041553” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Southampton’s Victor Wanyama, centre left, celebrates with teammates after their 1-0 win at Manchester United. AP[/caption] They will, of course, be expecting more than just domestic top-flight action, having leapfrogged their more illustrious opponents into third place. These are heady times for Southampton; tipped by many for relegation in the summer after a string of high-profile sales and the loss of their manager. Instead, they are firmly in the mix for European football. Southampton’s win at Old Trafford – a master class in discipline and organisation that Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville lauded as “the perfect away performance” – is a clear sign that the team has gotten over the hump – they lost five consecutive games over November and early December. It also it appears as though United, in a weird roundabout way, have contributed to Southampton’s revival. Thirty-four days previously, United visited St Mary’s and came away with all three points. It was the fifth defeat against sides that had finished above them in the Premier League in 2013-14 for Ronald Koeman’s men. Since then, however, they have comprehensively seen off Everton and Arsenal, held Chelsea to a draw at St Mary’s and earned their first win at Old Trafford in 27 years. Southampton’s upturn in form against the league’s leading lights is not coincidental. Koeman had spoken earlier this week about his belief that Southampton “belong” in the top four, and how previous defeats against more heralded sides had been attributable to “our mistakes and the individual qualities of their players”. Koeman and his players have learned from the manner of those losses, When Dusan Tadic grabbed the only goal of the game in the second half against United, the Serbian substitute had exploited Tyler Blackett’s failure to mark Graziano Pelle, and showed superb reflexes and poise to re-direct the ball into the back of the net after it the ball rebounded off the post from Pelle’s shot. It was no less than Southampton deserved. For the first time this season, Louis van Gaal had virtually all of his first-team squad at his disposal (Ashley Young being the exception) but United, who fielded Juan Mata, Angel Di Maria, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, were shorn of any semblance of fluency, bereft of any discernible plan. His decision to exclude Colombian striker Radamel Falcao from the match-day squad was entirely baffling, and it appeared even more so when they ended the match without a single shot on target. United’s lack of cohesion and ideas was exposed in the final 20 minutes when Di Maria was hooked and replaced with Marouane Fellaini, the symbol of the failed David Moyes era. United then proceeded to hurl balls indiscriminately into the box, to no avail, although Juan Mata should have put away one of the three chances that presented themselves to him late on. There is no shame in losing to Koeman’s impressive side, but watching United’s performance, it was hard to gauge how much progress they have actually made since Van Gaal arrived last year. Yes, allowances must be paid for a dismal run of injuries, but have they actually improved in terms of playing style or achievement? United’s points haul (37) is exactly the same as it was after 21 games last season (although they find themselves three places higher up, in fourth) and their style of play does not appear to be any more fluid or any more nuanced than the brand espoused by Moyes. And Van Gaal, of course, is the beneficiary of an unprecedented summer outlay of nearly £150m. Van Gaal has called for time to make his mark but his compatriot in the opposite dugout has shown just how quickly adaptation can take place. United’s misguided approach was in stark contrast to the one favoured by Southampton. Koeman’s players, to a man, stuck to their manager’s plan diligently, with the team far greater than the sum of its parts. That element of their performance was epitomised, and impressively so, by attacking new recruit Eljero Elia and first half substitute Florin Gardos. The former, who was deployed just behind the tireless lone striker Pelle, pressed intelligently and excelled as he put pressure on United’s backline. The fact that he made more successful tackles (3) than any other Southampton bore testament to the way each visiting player has bought into their manager’s vision. Meanwhile, Southampton could have suffered after Toby Alderweireld limped off after only 21 minutes but his replacement Gardos, who had previously managed only 234 minutes of Premier League action, slotted in seamlessly alongside captain Jose Fonte and did not put a foot wrong all afternoon. Come to think of it, neither did any of his team-mates. The Saints are marching on, make no mistake about it.