Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at Old Trafford in the English Premier League. The Red Devils have now drawn back-to-back matches by the same scoreline and have dropped points in their race for a top-four finish.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines * defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
What were the xT creation zones for Manchester United? How many shots were attempted by Southampton?
To navigate the stats gallery simply, click on the numbers to move through the pages.
At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting XI as Manchester United started in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Paul Pogba has now started in back-to-back league games since returning from injury.
By looking at the average positions of the starting XI, we can observe that Rashford played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in front, and his team played more wide towards the left side. Bruno Fernandes played in front of Paul Pogna and Scott McTominay.
Ralph Hasenhuttl named an unchanged side from their comeback win against Spurs. Che Adams and Armando Broja led the attack for the Saints.
Che Adams played behind Broja, who was supported by Mohamed Elyounoussi on the left and Stuart Armstrong on the right side. To strengthen their defense, the manager introduced Valentino Livramento from the right side.
Manchester United had 54% of the ball possession and made 30 positional attacks. Southampton players attempted more shots towards the opposition goal. Defensively, except for aerial duels, the visitors had a higher duels win percentage. Both teams were active on the counterattack, with Southampton attempting one counterattack more than their opponents.
Jadon Sancho opened the scoring for Manchester United, and his two shots created the highest xG rate in the match. Stuart Armstrong attempted the highest number of shots in the match. Raphael Varane had a good game in defense, and the Frenchman won six aerial duels, along with three recoveries inside the opposition’s half.
The Red Devils attempted 11 shots, with ten coming from inside the opposition’s penalty box. Sancho scored his goal from inside the opposition’s 6-yard box. The home team managed to hit the target seven times, with most of the shots on target coming from the right side of the goalkeeper.
The Saints attempted 13 shots, including six from inside the opposition’s penalty box. The goal was scored from inside the box, and the team managed to hit the target four times.
By looking at the expected goal timeline, we can observe that both teams attempted two shots each within the first ten minutes of the match. The Saints carried the momentum towards the end of the first half and attempted four shots in the last ten minutes. The second half saw six attempts by both teams.
Right-back Diogo Dalot attempted the highest number of passes for Manchester United. Of his 71 passes, 13 were each towards Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane. He was also on the receiving end of most passes.
Mohamed Salisu and James Ward-Prowse attempted 56 passes each for the Saints. Salisu was on the receiving end of 44 passes.
Marcus Rashford played on the right and attempted six crosses into the opposition’s penalty box. Of his 24 passes, six landed inside the opposition’s penalty box. Jadon Sancho attempted two smart passes out of the six attempted by his team, and his four passes landed inside the opposition’s penalty box.
Mohamed Elyounoussi was the only Southampton player who attempted a smart pass. Four out of the 26 passes he attempted landed inside the opposition’s penalty box.
The home team created a lot of threats from the wider sides, especially the right side. With his passes, Diogo Dalot created the most danger. Marcus Rashford provided an assist for the goal and had the second-highest threat rate.
Jadon Sancho created the highest threat rate from dribbles. Paul Pogba attempted the highest number of dribbles for his side.
The Saints also created threats from the wider sides, and that too, from the right. James War-Prowse and Kyle Walker-Peters created the highest threat rate from their passes.
Armando Broja troubled the opposition with his pace and skills. The forward created the highest threat rate from dribbles for his side.
Harry Maguire contested 13 duels for the home team and won the most duels for his side.
The Red Devils won 13 aerial duels in the middle. Raphael Varane had a 100% aerial duels win rate in the match.
Manchester United players won six loose ball duels each in the middle and final third. Raphael Varane once again had a 100% duels win rate.
Southampton players won 18 defensive duels in the defensive third. Mohamed Salisu contested eight duels for his side and lost two of them.
Armando Broja contested the highest number of aerial duels in the match. The forward contested 12 duels, winning six and losing five of them.
The Saints won 11 loose ball duels in the middle third. Jack Stephens came off the bench and won all the three duels contested by him.
Manchester United players were unable to capitalize on their chances and once again dropped two points. Southampton have now taken five points in the last three games and are still in the top half of the table.
If you want to download the stats report in PDF format you can do so here: Premier League Stats: Manchester United vs Southampton