'Let's go', 'Love it brother': Fernandes & Mount blown away by United star with 100% aerials won vs Southampton

Manchester United returned to the top half of the Premier League table following a 3-0 win over Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.

Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho found the back of the net. The former was adjudged the man of the match after a superb all-round display.

De Ligt had a tough international break with two high-profile defensive errors for the Netherlands, but he looked assured in the heart of the defence for the Red Devils.

Aside from his delightful header to open the scoring, De Ligt completed an impressive 92% of his passes. He also won 100% of his aerial duels, making six clearances.

The Ajax graduate had a mixed start to his Red Devils career, but he looked at his best on the South Coast.

Aside from an early lapse in concentration, he was hardly troubled defensively. De Ligt was taken off in the 87th minute, but he did not suffer any kind of injury.

The Dutchman clarified after the match that he was cramping and manager Erik ten Hag took the decision to replace him with Casemiro for the closing minutes.

Following the game, De Ligt took to Instagram to express his delight over the result.

Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount were among those who commented. Here is a screenshot.

De Ligt was backed by Ten Hag during the pre-match press conference. The Dutchman said that fans will see a ‘different quality‘ once the 25-year-old gets up to full speed.

The centre-back repaid the manager’s faith with an outstanding performance. Hopefully, he can now kick on with consistent displays to propel United into the top four.

Stats from Sofascore.com