Matthijs de Ligt received a touching message from Joshua Zirkzee after Manchester United secured a dramatic 3-1 comeback win against Southampton at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils were left chasing the Premier League match in the second half after Southampton stunned Manchester United before half-time on Thursday evening.
Manuel Ugarte put the ball past Andre Onana after the Red Devils failed to clear a Southampton corner, with United once again exposed from set-pieces.
However, United salvaged a crucial Premier League win over the Saints thanks to Amad Diallo’s stunning impact late in the second half at Old Trafford.
Amad Diallo cancelled out Southampton’s lead in the 82nd minute before the Ivorian attacker completed his brace for the Red Devils in the 90th minute.
The 22-year-old Ivory Coast international capped off his show-stealing performance with his hat-trick deep in injury time and United secured a 3-1 win on the night.
De Ligt’s message and Zirkzee’s response
Manchester United are now 12th in the Premier League table and the Red Devils are 12 points adrift from the top four after 21 league matches played.
Ruben Amorim’s men played their first match at Old Trafford in 2025 and United have seen a turnaround in results and form since the start of the year.
The Red Devils signed off 2024 with four consecutive defeats across all competitions, but United have picked up two wins and one draw in 2025.
United secured a 2-2 Premier League draw against Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month before knocking rivals Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the Emirates.
Matthijs de Ligt took to Instagram after Thursday’s 3-1 result and the former Ajax and Bayern Munich star sent an emotionally charged message to United fans.
Speaking on the social media platform, he wrote: “We always fight, we always believe, we never give up!”
Joshua Zirkzee, who produced a stunning performance against Southampton, wasted no time reacting to United teammate De Ligt on social media.
The 23-year-old United forward left the message “beest ben je” in the comments, which translates from Dutch to English as ‘you are a beast.’
Amorim looks ahead for Man Utd
United will now resume their Premier League campaign on Sunday when they welcome Brighton to Old Trafford, with kick-off slated for 2pm UK time.
Speaking after the match, Ruben Amorim insisted that he would approach the Brighton match completely differently from the Southampton result at Old Trafford.
“It’s improving what we did wrong in this game,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“It’s a different game. Today was a game, man-to-man. The next game is going to be a completely different game, with a different team, with a different coach.
“So, I will try to explain, in one day, what kind of team we are going to face, what we need to improve, and try to reduce that to two things. And that’s it, to try to win the next game.”
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