Soton 1 Manchester Utd 2
Southampton 1 Manchester United 2, St Mary´s Stadium, English Premier League, December 8, 2014. Manchester United managed to edge out Ronald Koeman´s Southampton side by 2-1 at St Mary´s. Robin van Persie scored for United in the 12th and 71st minutes respectively, while Graziano Pelle found the net for Soton one minute past the half-hour mark.
Manchester United came into this Premier League fixture on the back of a 2-1 victory against Stoke City at Old Trafford, while Southampton had suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in their previous match. David de Gea had enjoyed a great game against The Potters and the 24-year-old goalkeeper was just as impressive at St Mary´s. Manchester United pushed themselves into an early 1-0 lead though Robin van Persie after twelve minutes of fierce action, but The Saints hit back thanks to a goal from summer signing Graziano Pelle in the 31st minute of play. The Old Trafford club eventually restored the lead when Van Persie converted a dangerous free-kick from Wayne Rooney in the 71st minute of the tussle to make it 2-1 to the visiting team, and although the South Coasters pushed hard for a goal during the closing stages, the home players failed in their attempts to turn pressure into an equaliser. The closely contested away triumph against Southampton was Manchester United´s fifth Premier League consecutive victory, and Louis van Gaal´s boys now found themselves in third place in the Premier League table, one point in front of West Ham United in fourth position. Southampton Team: Fraser Forster, Nathaniel Clyne, Jose Fonte, Maya Yoshida, Ryan Bertrand, Steven Davis, Dusan Tadic, Victor Wanyama, Sadio Mane, Shane Long, Graziano Pelle. Substitutes: Florin Gardos, Matt Targett, Harrison Reed, Jake Hesketh, Lloyd Isgrove, Emmanuel Mayuka, Kelvin Davis. Manchester United Team: David de Gea, Paddy McNair, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Valencia, Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney. Substitutes: Ander Herrera, Radamel Falcao, James Wilson, Adnan Januzaj, Darren Fletcher, Jonny Evans, Anders Lindegaard.
Robin van Persie Quickfacts
Robin van Persie registered his first Premier League goal for Manchester United in a 3-2 triumph against Fulham at Old Trafford on the 25th of August 2012 and followed up by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Premiership newcomers Southampton at St Mary´s Stadium the following weekend.
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