'More will come': Erik ten Hag confident after 'huge' moment for Man United star in Southampton win

Manchester United earned an important three points on the south coast on Saturday as they kicked off the return of the Premier League following the international break. The Red Devils cruised to a confident 3-0 win over Southampton to restore confidence after their previous defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.

André Onana produced a crucial save to deny Cameron Archer from the penalty spot and his follow up attempt. Just moments later, summer signing Matthijs de Ligt opened his account with his new club. The Dutchman put United ahead with his first goal, which came at a crucial time for him personally following a tough period on international duty with the Netherlands.

Marcus Rashford also enjoyed a significant moment as he scored his first goal since March to put United 2-0 ahead. A stoppage time third from Alejandro Garnacho rounded off United’s trip to St Mary’s and sends them back to Manchester with a well-earned three points.

Following their victory on the road, Erik ten Hag said the game ‘was all ours’ once they headed into the break. The plan for the second half was to ‘kill the game off’, which is exactly what United did.

Southampton were reduced down to ten men following Jack Stephens’ reckless challenge on Garnacho, who later delivered the final nail in the coffin with United’s third of the afternoon in stoppage time.

Ten Hag discussed the end of Rashford’s goal drought and described it as a ‘very important’ moment for both the forward and the team.

“It’s so huge for him, for every striker, and when the season starts, you want to be on the scoring list. So now he has his first [of the season] I’m sure more will come,” he told TNT Sports, going on to talk about De Ligt’s return from international duty.

“When you come back to your club, you have to pick it up. We know we signed a very good player with a lot of attributes and one of them is he is a threat on set pieces. I’m happy he scored that goal.”

United’s win puts them on six points for the season so far. Once they face Barnsley in their upcoming Carabao Cup clash, the Red Devils will pay Crystal Palace a visit for their next Premier League fixture.