David De Gea: 7/10

The goal conceded was tough to swallow, and the deflection off of Fred to make it an own goal seemed fitting given the self-inflicted damage caused by the hesitation to close down on Che Adams. Otherwise De Gea had a good game, making a few good saves and likely preventing a loss.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 5/10

Ineffective progressing the ball, and made some poor decisions as well, one of which led to a giveaway and Maguire picking a yellow card conceding a free kick. Luckily Ward-Prowse was unable to capitalize.

Victor Lindelof: 5/10

Not hugely effective, and should have scored on an early free kick, but mistimed his header.

Harry Maguire: 5/10

Partially responsible for not closing down on Southampton’s goal, but wasn’t lacking effort to improve on the bad moment. Made his presence felt on set pieces and got some important stops.

Luke Shaw: 6/10

Not a standout performance but was a useful avenue forward in a game that offered little at times. Some hiccups defensively but certainly the most useful member of the back four today.

Nemanja Matic: 3/10

Worse than ineffective, he was a liability at times. Not great, especially when his midfield partner was struggling as well.

Fred: 4/10

Not a good day for the Fred Hive. Fred was picked on and frustrated for much of the match today, and though the own goal attribution might be a bit harsh he was partly at fault for the goal.

Paul Pogba: 7/10

Bagged another assist, and was probably the most effective outfield player for United today. Created a number of chances for others and himself, and if not for instability in the midfield behind him he might be on the stats sheet a bit more.

Bruno Fernandes: 5/10

Went after it but struggled to influence the match. Clearly frustrated after what should have been a foul on him in the build up to Southampton’s goal, but no excuse for his struggles going forward. Drop off from his performance last week, but still a high work rate player.

Mason Greenwood: 7/10

Again Greenwood looked a very promising threat in attack for United. His play off the ball and in build up has grown a lot since his early days in the first team, and his efforts were rewarded with a goal. Should have started centrally again, and probably moved wide too often when he did switch positions.

Anthony Martial: 4/10

Very typical bad Martial performance: Struggled to get involved to the point where it was easy to forget he was even on the pitch. Need to see better from the Frenchman if he’s to survive beyond this campaign.

Substitutes

Jadon Sancho: 6/10

Some energetic involvement. Had one decent counter attack opportunity where he got in Bruno’s way a bit rather than giving an option, not really given the chance to grow into the game.

Scott McTominay: 5/10

Didn’t positively impact a midfield already lacking control.

Jesse Lingard: N/A

Came on late, made little impact.

Manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: 6/10

Solskjaer likely set up for this one the wrong way, but didn’t have a lot of options in midfield. McTominay’s lack of fitness force him to go with Matic, and he and Fred were not very effective. He also switched Greenwood back to the right and played Martial up top after Greenwood’s excellent performance centrally against Leeds. This is also understandable for wanting to get Martial firing, but a move that can be criticized in hindsight given Martial’s poor display. Made understandable subs too, they just didn’t work. They go again next week.

More than anything this match further highlights Manchester United’s need for a deep-lying midfielder who can help control the game and free up Pogba and Bruno. Hopefully some more business can be done before the window closes.