Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was a happy man after his side ‘survived’ the last half an hour to see off Southampton in the south-coast sunshine.
United edged past their hosts thanks to a tidy Bruno Fernandes finish in the second half.
Post-goal panic shows Ten Hag just how much has to be done at Manchester United
It was a close encounter and Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl insists he did not see much of a difference between the two sides.
“It doesn’t feel good because we deserved more today,” the Austrian told Match of the Day.
“I think we had more chances and more shots on goal. In the end we gave them one or two situations in the second half and they scored one beautiful goal. We didn’t manage to score and that was the difference today.
“Over the whole 90 minutes we tried really hard to put them under pressure. In the second half we tried a lot. Sometimes football’s like this – the ball doesn’t want to go in the back of the net. Today was one of those days.
“We’ve spent on five players the amount that Man Utd has spent on one player. That’s the way we have to go. I didn’t see much difference between the two teams today.
“We’ll definitely see some moves, in or out, in the next few days.”
Saints will feel aggrieved they were not awarded a penalty after United midfielder Scott McTominay showed off his juggling skills in his own box.
Hasenhuttl was not a happy bunny, saying: “It was not one handball – it was three times. When this isn’t handball, what should I say?”
Ten Hag, meanwhile, insists there is plenty to improve on after his side ‘survived’ a late onslaught from Southampton, but was high in praise of goalscorer Fernandes.
“I think the players learnt some lessons from Brentford,” the Dutchman said. “We were more compact on the long balls.
“Of course we were really happy. The goal we created, we could have made more. You hope to have more control in the last 30 minutes of the game.
“Before half time we already had the best chance of the game. I was satisfied. At the start of the game we could have created more.
“It is the start of the season, it is tough. You have to battle and we did that today so we were rewarded.
“It was a fantastic finish. I am really happy for Bruno [Fernandes]. But I think it was the best part of us. We kept control straight after half-time. We moved it around and we created three really good chances straight after half time and that is how I want us to…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…