Manchester United drew 0-0 with Southampton on a controversial afternoon at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Casemiro was sent off in the first half for the hosts, while United were twice denied penalties, as the Saints threatened in an uncomfortable afternoon for Erik ten Hag’s side.
It was a slow start from United in the opening half an hour, with David de Gea called into action to keep out a strike from Kyle Walker-Peters and a Theo Walcott header. Kamaldeen Sulemana also had a dangerous shot blocked by Raphael Varane inside the box.
As for United, Marcus Rashford had the best chance in the early stages when he cut inside and shot towards goal, forcing Gavin Bazunu to palm it wide. Bruno Fernandes also shot over from outside the box, and, on 31 minutes, Wout Weghorst’s tame header was held.
Soon after, the game turned when Casemiro received a straight red card for his lunge on Carlos Alcaraz. Anthony Taylor originally brandished a yellow card but, following a pitchside monitor check, upgraded the punishment to red.
James Ward-Prowse’s subsequent free-kick deflected wide off the United wall, while Raphael Varane saw a shot saved from just a few yards out, before Lisandro Martinez’s header went over.
United had a strong penalty appeal turned down near the end of the fist half when Armel Bella-Kotchap stopped the ball with his hand but, incredibly, Taylor didn’t point to spot and VAR didn’t check the incident.
The Saint came out as the side in the ascendancy after the break, with Scott McTominay nearly scoring an own-goal on 48 minutes, only for Aaron Wan-Bissaka to get back in time and clear the ball off the line.
Ward-Prowse then clipped the top of the crossbar with a dipping free-kick, while De Gea saved from Walcott as he managed to get clear of the United defence and have a one-on-one chance against the Spanish goalkeeper.
At the other end, Bazunu got down excellently to claw a Fernandes shot onto the post after 67 minutes, and minutes later Walker-Peters smashed an effort against the woodwork from just inside the United box. De Gea also held a strike from Stuart Armstrong, while Walcott fired over from distance in the final stages. Rashford then had a soft penalty claim turned down when he was on the receiving end of a light touch from Bazunu in the box.
It was a tense end to proceedings at Old Trafford, without any clear-cut chances for United, who may not be overly disappointed with a point after playing for nearly an hour against 10 men. Here’s how we rated the players...
1. David de Gea- 6
Made good saves to deny Walcott twice, on what was busy afternoon for the keeper.
2. Aaron Wan-Bissaka- 6
Defended well but was sloppy in possession and gave the ball away on a few occasions.
3. Raphael Varane- 7
Had a busy second half and dealt well with Southampton’s attempts to find a breakthrough.
4. Lisandro Martinez- 8 (off 90)
Excellent on the ball, made some well-timed tackles and interceptions. Martinez was probably the Red Devils’ best player at Old Trafford.