Saints might have been beaten bu they were not bowed and put in a fine second half performance that augurs well for the season.

A defeat is a defeat but sometimes it has to be put in context and this was a United side who cam into the game having scored 16 goals and conceded only 2, it could be said this was Saints first big test of the season.

So from this context yes it was a defeat but it was one that left those leaving the ground at the end knowing they had seen a decent performance from their side who not only matched United in all departments but dominated possession and pushed them back.

There are still things not quite right in the Saints team, but the manager is starting to impose his way of playing on the team and that should shine through in the coming weeks if this is anything to go by.

Saints dominated the stats in all departments, 69% possession, 14 shot against United's 9 even 8 corners against 4, but the one stat that mattered was the one goal scored and that sadly was United's

There was no Virgil Van Dijk in the starting line up althouh some fans still felt that a second striker is needed rather than considering that the issue is about firstly supply, Shane Long ran his legs off throughout the game and pushed United back Lemina and Romeu had to work hard in midfield and in the centre of defence Hoedt and Yoshida were only found wanting once and that sadly decided the game.

Mauricio Pellegrino showed that he was willing to change tactics to try and rescue the game, his first substitution saw Gabbiadini come on, but it was not to replace Long but Davis meaning that there were two strikers on the pitch for the final 17 minutes and that stayed the same when the shattered Long went off for Charlie Austin, but for all Saints domination it was the issue of creating truly decent chances.

But overall although it was a defeat there were plenty of plus points to be taken from this game, if a rampant United side struggle to beat us then there is nothing to fear from the rest of the league, Ok perhaps their near neighbours City who are looking good.

We have a good shape now and plenty of options and it is now just about getting the creative players creating again, in Tadic and Redmond we have two players who can change games, as of yet they are not in the best of form, but if they can find that form then we have nothing to worry about.

The key now is to be positive, we are a better squad than last year and a better manager we can beat last years performance.

Photo: Action Images

Braveheart added 13:09 - Sep 26 I don@t see anything different being offered from last season. We are not sure of goal scoring options in the team. We are just short of a competent manager who has a basic understanding of the obvious.
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TeamCortese added 21:06 - Sep 26 ChannonFodder: A lot of players are overrated. The key point is will he address our scoring issues? My verdict is a resounding YES! I don't care whether you think he's lazy or gives up too easily HE SCORES GOALS. Shane Long has all the opposite of the attributes you just mentioned but, evidently, doesn't score enough goals. Tell me another striker in the EPL that can score 15-20 goals a season consistently for 3-4 seasons that's worth less than £30 million? (during the time of Palace's purchase or in today's market). The fact of the matter is you won't find that. Another thing is we don't know what happens behind the scenes with transfer dealings. For you to say no one wanted him apart Palace is nothing short of naive. I rate Benteke better than the rest of our attack and consider him one of the best target-men in Europe and the rest of the world. He needs confidence and once he gets it back people like you ChannonFodder will be silent until he's flopping again. Lastly, in terms of goals his physical presence alone will unsettle defenders; he'll score a ton of goals from Cedric's, Bertrand's and JWP's deliveries; his hold-up play will bring our attacking midfielders into the game more. He would be a brilliant signing for us. It's a simple no-brainer IMO.

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