Manchester United held on to grab three vital points in the race for the title. United now find themselves seven points clear at the top as Manchester City drew a blank at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.
However this wasn’t a run of the mill night at Old Trafford. Southampton provided a stiff test for Manchester United with Alex Ferguson acknowledging their efforts after the game:
[quote]…in the second half Southampton have been the best team to play here this season. We were fortunate to win.
Sir Alex Ferguson[/quote]
Looking at the stats you would have to agree with Sir Alex. The saints dominated possession making over a hundred more passes and having five more shots than the Champions elect. Manchester United’s conceded goal was due to a defensive error by Michael Carrick however Wayne Rooney was on hand twice to help Manchester United to three points.
In-depth Match Stats from the game are below:
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EPL Index Opinion
It’s games like these that show championship quality. Even Sir Alex admitted that United were lucky to win but the best sides win when they don’t deserve to and Southampton were good value for a point at least. If you look at the number of clearances in the game you’d think that United’s stats were actually of Southampton. The fact that Manchester United had to clear the ball 53 times at home, four times more than their relegation threatened opponents indicates the amount of pressure they were under in this game.
If Manchester United win the title this season their supporters will look back at this game and will proudly chant: “That’s why we’re champions!” – and you wouldn’t be able to argue with that.
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