Ruben Amorim names four Man Utd players who struggled in Southampton win, two were hooked before hour mark

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Manchester United left it late to secure three points against Southampton on Thursday night.

The Saints were on top for most of the game, but Manchester United turned things around with a 12-minute hat-trick from Amad Diallo.

United beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford to move up to 12^th in the Premier League.

Southampton took the lead following Manuel Ugarte’s unfortunate own goal before the interval.

Although Southampton came to Old Trafford with just six points on the board, they pushed hard for their second league win of the season but came up short.

Thankfully for United, the Amad show was only warming up until the last 10 minutes when the Ivorian went up the gears to score three times.

Ruben Amorim demands more enthusiasm

Ruben Amorim made three changes after watching United beat Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup.

Andre Onana, Leny Yoro and Amad all returned to the line-up but Amorim did not get the performance he would’ve wanted from the team.

In a post-match interview with TNT Sports, Amorim named four United players who struggled to meet his expectations on the night.

Ugarte turned the ball into his own net just before the break to give Southampton an unlikely lead, with Amad’s brilliance papering over the cracks after yet another lacklustre display from United.

Amorim was not afraid to name and shame the players he expected more from when quizzed by Paul Scholes on what he felt was missing from his team.

“It’s not just tiredness but playing in this stadium, we lost the last three games here,” said Amorim. “The pressure is different because we try to press the opponent in the build-up and you can feel the difficulties.

“Matheus [Fernandes] between the lines and [Tyler] Dibling between the lines caused us a lot of problems. We have difficulties to press high at the moment. This team is not used to doing that.

“It seems a lack of enthusiasm. Ugarte is late. [Kobbie] Mainoo is late. Bruno [Fernandes] going outside when the ball is inside. In one transition, Leny [Yoro] cannot press the guy.

“These small things push the team behind and we get nervous without the ball. When you have one opportunity you feel the team can control the game better. I want to be fair to my players. It was a lack of speed and a lack of control in the game.”

This means Amorim will expect more from Ugarte, Fernandes, Mainoo and Yoro when they play next.

Midfield duo Ugarte and Mainoo were both booked by Amorim before the hour mark, while Fernandes and Yoro played the entire match.

United are back in action against Brighton on Sunday.

Amorim credits Southampton performance

Southampton were the better team on the night.

If it wasn’t for Amad, the result would read very differently this morning, and United would have remained 15^th in the table.

Amorim made sure to credit Southampton in his post-match interview, adding: “A very difficult game, a game of two halves. They did a very good job, Southampton, creating space between the lines.

“[Kamaldeen Sulemana] with a lot of space, we had a lot of difficulty to stop that player.

“When they lose their physicality, we find the space to use. The feeling is we have so much to do. The team is really tired. It was a win, it was good. Let’s continue.”