Amad Diallo scored his first-ever hat-trick for the club as Manchester United came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford, extending their unbeaten run against them in the Premier League to 16 matches.
After their first win under manager Ivan Jurić in the FA Cup against Swansea, Southampton started well and had the first real chance when Kamaldeen Sulemana skilfully got past Leny Yoro but was denied by André Onana from a tight angle. At the other end, Alejandro Garnacho missed the target after a pass from Rasmus Højlund, and Kobbie Mainoo’s attempt to find Garnacho was blocked by Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Southampton continued to play well, with Onana making an excellent save to deny Tyler Dibling after a great run by the young winger. Onana then quickly got up to save Mateus Fernandes’ close-range shot, although the Portuguese midfielder should have scored. Sulemana then shot wide, but Southampton took the lead in the 43rd minute when Fernandes’ corner was flicked on by Dibling, and Manuel Ugarte accidentally diverted the ball past Onana despite getting a hand to it.
Ruben Amorim made a change at half-time, bringing on Antony for Mainoo, but Southampton continued to be the better team. United’s manager responded by bringing on Joshua Zirkzee and Toby Collyer for Højlund and Ugarte. Southampton had another chance to double their lead when Sulemana got past Yoro again but missed the target. That miss proved costly when Garnacho crossed for Antony, but the Brazilian couldn’t score with the goal open, allowing Aaron Ramsdale to collect the ball.
Pressure mounted as Bruno Fernandes tried to chip Ramsdale, and his follow-up pass was cleared off the line by James Bree. United finally equalised in the 82nd minute when Amad benefitted from a lucky bounce and fired in confidently. Southampton, struggling this season, were under pressure in the closing stages, and Amad sealed the win just before stoppage time. He played a clever one-two with Christian Eriksen before volleying the ball into the net.
Amad completed his hat-trick at the death, capitalising on a poor touch from Harwood-Bellis to score easily and send the fans into celebration. It was a tough defeat for Southampton, who extended their winless away streak in the Premier League to 18 matches. United moved up to 12th place thanks to their first home league win since early December.
