Southampton vs. Manchester United: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Robin van Persie scored twice as Manchester United battled to a 2-1 win away to Southampton on Monday.
Nothing about the victory was pretty, but as ESPN FC's John Brewin pointed out via Twitter, the three points put the Red Devils in the top three of the Premier League for the first time since the opening match of last season.
Graziano Pelle scored the only goal of the evening for the hosts, who are fifth in the standings after 15 matches and two points adrift of United.
Overall, there were a handful of standout performances at St Mary's as well as one or two that were rather less impressive.
Following are the individual winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: David de Gea, Who Saved United's Blushes Once Again
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Manchester United put just two shots on target on Monday night and found the back of the net with both of them.
They mustered very little in the way of sustained, attacking play, which meant they were either huffing and puffing aimlessly about or on the back foot for much of the match.
To secure the victory, goalkeeper David de Gea had to come up big for the guests when needed, and he made one of two highly important saves shortly after the restart when he awkwardly denied Shane Long.
Then in the 77th minute, he dove to his left to keep Graziano Pelle from scoring.
"De Gea saving shots, and therefore points, like a proper goalkeeper," was how ESPN FC's James Dall summarised the Spaniard's performance via Twitter.
Loser: Marouane Fellaini, Whose Sloppy Play Led to Southampton's Goal
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Marouane Fellaini had a terrible first half at St Mary's that culminated in a giveaway ahead of Pelle's equaliser just after the half-hour mark.
Looking to play a basic, lateral pass to teammate Juan Mata, Fellaini ended up providing Steven Davis a chance to run at the United defense—a quick bit of buildup that culminated with the Italian's seventh goal of the campaign.
Telegraph writer Paul Hayward remarked via Twitter that Fellaini was "donating the ball" to his Southampton opponents, while The Guardian's Jamie Jackson was rather more direct in his criticism.
"Fellaini's fault," he tweeted.
Winner: Robin van Persie, Who Scored Both United Goals
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Robin van Persie picked a good day to put on his shooting boots.
Of all the Manchester United players, only the Dutchman managed to hit the target on Monday. He found the back of the net with two of his three shots.
On the first, he pounced to intercept Jose Fonte's back pass intended for goalkeeper Fraser Forster; on the second, he raced to the far post and got on the end of Wayne Rooney's free-kick.
As statistics website WhoScored.com pointed out on Twitter, Van Persie has now directly contributed to four of United's last six Premier League goals.
Loser: Southampton's Defensive Record, Which Has Taken a Hit of Late
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In their first 11 Premier League matches, Southampton conceded a minuscule five goals as they climbed into the Champions League places.
But in their last four encounters against Aston Villa, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United, they've given up seven goals and dropped to fifth in the standings.
Generally speaking, Saints have still been one of the English top flight's surprise packages in 2014-15, but they've just come off the boil in recent weeks. It will be interesting to see how they respond as they continue to fall back to earth.
Burnley are next up for manager Ronald Koeman's men, who will also face Everton, Crystal Palace and Chelsea before the new year.
Winner: Louis van Gaal, Who Can Finally Embrace United's Momentum
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Louis van Gaal has been cautious in his use of the "m" word this season, even as Manchester United won four matches in succession ahead of Monday's contest away to Southampton.
"I have said already that we have to wait and see about the momentum," he told reporters on Sunday, per Mark Ogden of the Telegraph.
And while what he saw at St Mary's might not have left him all that pleased, the victory was nevertheless United's fifth on the trot and took them to third in the table.
They got a result without playing well—something that can only bode well for them ahead of matches against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham.
Loser: Jose Fonte, Who Gifted Van Persie the Opener
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Southampton had no business losing to Manchester United on Monday and had only themselves to blame.
In the 12th minute, with the match still lacking anything resembling a pattern, Saints defender Jose Fonte attempted to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, only to play Van Persie through for a straightforward finish.
It was a "blind" back pass, according to AFP writer Tom Williams' tweet, that Van Persie had only to collect and roll into the back of the net.
Forster himself might have done better in the 71st minute when he failed to track Van Persie's run to the far post as Wayne Rooney's free-kick fell into the Dutchman's path.
