MX23RW : Monday, January 13 20:04:11| >> :120:8253:8253:

Bruno Fernandes admits Man United must improve at Old Trafford

Bruno Fernandes admits Man United must improve at Old Trafford
© Reuters
United have won just one of five games at home.

Bruno Fernandes knows Manchester United need to up their game at Old Trafford after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men made club history on the road.

The Red Devils were staring down the barrel of defeat at Southampton on Sunday after Jan Bednarek and James Ward-Prowse put the hosts in the hotseat.

Solskjaer turned to Edinson Cavani at half-time and the veteran made a superb impact, setting up Fernandes before netting a brace as United snatched a 3-2 victory at the death at St Mary's.

It was a record-breaking result as United won an eighth successive top-flight away match for the first time in their history – a far cry from winning just one of their five home Premier League games.

"We are happy," midfielder Fernandes said of the away run.

"Records are there to be broken and we are happy to have broken this record.

"But now we need to look forward and win all the games we have at home also.

"I think away too because we are a big team and we have the qualities to do.

Southampton v Manchester United – Premier League – St Mary's Stadium
Bruno Fernandes started the United comeback (Mike Hewitt/PA)

"Today was against a tough opponent. I think if you take out the big teams, or big clubs as you say in England, for me Southampton who is the team that can play much quality football in the Premier League.

"They have quality, they have runners, they fight. They're such a good quality and it's difficult to beat them.

"I think today the sacrifice we made in the second half, the way we run, the way we helped the mate on our side was fantastic.

"I think we played well in the first half. We concede goals from set-plays and I think for that we will work on. We cannot be happy with that but they have qualities too."

Fernandes gave United hope of taking something away from Southampton, having scored in five consecutive away matches.

Cavani's ball found the Portuguese as the visitors reduced the deficit before the super sub netted a pair of headers to seal a memorable win.

"When you have strikers who move a lot, and they give you the chance to play balls for them, it is really good," Fernandes told club media.

"I think every striker we have gives us options. I don't want to go on personally about Edi or another player because it's not fair, but of course Edi has qualities, everyone knows that.

"For me, he's one of those strikers that can smell the goal as you saw twice. He smelt the goal, you need to have this feeling to score these two goals.

"As I said some weeks and some months ago, Edi will help us and he is helping already.

"For me, one of the best games he played was against (Istanbul) Basaksehir in the Champions League and nobody talks about that because he didn't score but he did an amazing game.

"He helps a lot and he will help more and more in the future."

Southampton v Manchester United – Premier League – St Mary's Stadium
Edinson Cavani (right) hit a brace to win it for Manchester United (Mike Hewitt/PA)

Cavani's introduction extinguished Southampton's hopes of beating United at St Mary's for the first time since 2003, much to the frustration of goalscorer Bednarek.

"First half, it started perfect for us," the Saints defender said.

"We did what we wanted, we won so many balls, we scored goals, we created chances and I would say everything was perfect for us.

Southampton v Manchester United – Premier League – St Mary's Stadium
Jan Bednarek put Southampton ahead (Naomi Baker/PA)

"But the second half I think we were a little bit too sloppy, we lost too many balls and then we let the opposition feel that they could get something and that's what happened.

"They have so many qualities they don't need many chances to score. I would say they were clinical and they got the win.

"We have a lot of positives from the game, but not the result, so we still need to work very hard to get points."

ID:424489: cacheID:424489:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:11066:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United's Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring against Southampton in the Premier League on November 29, 2020
Read Next:
Man United set new Premier League record in win over Southampton
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool19144147192846
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest20124429191040
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham207943027330
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2044123145-1416
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!