The

2020–21 Premier League The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season w ...

football match between

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

was played at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...

, Greater Manchester, on 2 February 2021. The match finished 9–0 to Manchester United, a joint-record winning margin for a Premier League match, shared with their own 9–0 win at home to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

in March 1995,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

's 9–0 away win over Southampton in October 2019 and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

's 9–0 home win against AFC Bournemouth in August 2022. Seven different players scored for United (excluding Jan Bednarek's

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

), equalling the all-time Premier League record of most goalscorers for the same team in a single match, set when

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

beat

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

8–0 in December 2012. The match is the joint-seventh highest-scoring Premier League match in history.

Background

went into the match in second place in the

table on 41 points, three behind

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

, albeit having played 21 matches to City's 20. They had lost just once in their last 16 matches, although they had also won only one of their last four; City had overtaken them at the top of the league with a 5–0 win over

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

on 26 January, and United's defeat at home to last-placed

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

the next day gave City a further advantage. United then fell further behind on 30 January, as they could only manage a goalless draw away to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, while City beat Sheffield United 1–0 at home. Meanwhile,

went into the match in 11th place, though they had briefly led the Premier League in November, and were still as high as third in mid-December; a run of just one win in eight Premier League matches, including losing their last three, had seen them drop down the table. They had also scored just three goals in those eight matches, having managed 24 in the first 13 games of the season. The sides had already met once that season, at Southampton's home ground,

St Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of Premier League club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the lar ...

, on 29 November 2020. Jan Bednarek opened the scoring midway through the first half with a header from a

James Ward-Prowse James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse (born 1 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Southampton and the England national team. Originally a member of Southampton's youth teams, Ward-Pro ...

corner, before Ward-Prowse himself scored from a

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows: ...

10 minutes later.

Bruno Fernandes Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes (; born 8 September 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Manchester United and the Portugal national team. Fernandes is known for his goalscoring, playmak ...

pulled a goal back for Manchester United just under 15 minutes into the second half, turning home a right-wing cross from

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

, who had come on at half-time, before providing the assist for Cavani to head in the equalising goal in the 74th minute. In the second minute of second-half stoppage time, Cavani scored the winner with another header, this time following a cross from the left wing by

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United and the England national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his explosive ath ...

. It was the fourth time in the season that United had come from behind to win.

Pre-match

Team selection

While Manchester United had a full squad available heading into the match, Southampton were missing several players through injury, including Ibrahima Diallo,

Michael Obafemi Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi (born 6 July 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Irish national team. Early life Obafemi was born in Dublin to Nigerian parents. While ...

Oriol Romeu Oriol Romeu Vidal (; born 24 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga side Girona. Romeu began his career at Barcelona, playing mainly in their reserves. In 2011, he joined Chelsea fo ...

Mohammed Salisu Mohammed Salisu Abdul Karim (born 17 April 1999) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Southampton and the Ghana national team. Salisu started his senior career with Valladolid, featuring for t ...

Will Smallbone William Anthony Patrick Smallbone (born 21 February 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Southampton and the Republic of Ireland national team. Club career Southampton 2017–2022 On 21 February 2017, ...

Nathan Tella Nathan Adewale Temitayo Tella (born 5 July 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Southampton. Career Early career Nathan Tella grew up in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and was educated at Edwinstree middle s ...

Jannik Vestergaard Jannik Vestergaard (born 3 August 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Leicester City and the Denmark national team. Vestergaard played for various Danish and German clubs before joining S ...

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...

and

Kyle Walker-Peters Kyle Leonardus Walker-Peters (born 13 April 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Southampton and the England national team. Personal life Walker-Peters was born in Edmonton, London. His ...

. Southampton made four changes from their 1–0 loss to Aston Villa three days earlier; in the absence of central midfielders Diallo, Romeu and Smallbone, manager

Ralph Hasenhüttl Ralph Hasenhüttl (; born 9 August 1967) is an Austrian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Premier League club Southampton. During his playing career, he played as a centre forward. Playing caree ...

gave a full debut to Swiss 19-year-old Alexandre Jankewitz, who had come on as a late substitute against Aston Villa. Right-back Walker-Peters had not played since Southampton's 1–0 FA Cup fourth round win over Arsenal and was deputised by

Kayne Ramsay Kayne Ramsay (born 10 October 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Harrogate Town. Club career Southampton A right back, Ramsay joined Southampton from Chelsea in 2017 as a youth prospect. Af ...

, as

Yan Valery Yan Valery ( ar, يان فاليري; born 22 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Angers and the Tunisia national team. He began his senior career in England with Premier League club Southam ...

had been loaned to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

before the transfer deadline the previous day. Their other changes saw

Moussa Djenepo Moussa Djenepo (born 15 June 1998) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a winger or left-back for Belgian Pro League club Standard Liège and the Mali national team. Club career Early career Djenepo began his career at Yeelen Olymp ...

and

Ché Adams Ché Zach Everton Fred Adams (born 13 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Southampton and the Scotland national team. Adams began his senior career in non-league football with Oadby Town and Ilkeston befor ...

come in for Walcott and

Nathan Redmond Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond (born 6 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. Redmond began his career as a youngster with Birmingham City, his hometown club. He made h ...

, who was on the bench. Southampton had seven youth-team players, including youngster Will Ferry on the bench. Manchester United's only change to their starting line-up saw

Mason Greenwood Mason Will John Greenwood (born 1 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United. A graduate of United's youth system, Greenwood scored in a UEFA Europa League match against Astana in Se ...

come in for

Paul Pogba Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the France national team. He operates primarily as a central midfielder, but can be deployed as a left winger, attacking midfielder, ...

, while Brandon Williams, who had been a candidate to go out on loan during the transfer window, replaced

Axel Tuanzebe Axel Tuanzebe (born 14 November 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Manchester United. Tuanzebe is a graduate of the Manchester United youth system and won both the Jimmy Murphy Young Pla ...

on the bench.

Referee

The referee for the match was Mike Dean from

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

. He was supported by assistant referees Darren Cann and Ian Hussin, fourth official

Lee Mason Lee Mason (born 29 October 1971)
and biography:

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...

team of Graham Scott and Stephen Child.

Match

Summary

In the second minute of the match, Southampton midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz, on his first start for the club, was sent off for a high challenge on

Scott McTominay Scott Francis McTominay (born 8 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester United and the Scotland national team. McTominay is a graduate of the Manchester United youth academy and made his senior ...

. It was the fourth time that a player had been sent off within the first two minutes of a Premier League game. Now with a man advantage, Manchester United opened the scoring in the 18th minute, when right-back

Aaron Wan-Bissaka Aaron Wan-Bissaka (born 26 November 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Manchester United. Wan-Bissaka began his career with Crystal Palace and was named as the club's Player of the Year for the 2018� ...

met a cross from

Luke Shaw Luke Paul Hoare Shaw (born 12 July 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Manchester United and the England national team. Originally a member of Southampton's youth system, Shaw made his first-team debu ...

at the back post.

doubled United's lead seven minutes later, before forcing an own goal from Jan Bednarek in the 34th minute.

added a fourth goal for the home side five minutes later, and it could have been 5–0 before half-time when referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty for a foul on Cavani by

; however, the decision was overturned by the

, who deemed the foul to have taken place outside the penalty area. At half-time, Manchester United brought on

Anthony Martial Anthony Jordan Martial (; born 5 December 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the France national team. After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his p ...

and

Donny van de Beek Donny van de Beek (; born 18 April 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team. He joined the Ajax academy in 2008. In 2015, Van de Beek made ...

in place of Cavani and Shaw.

thought he had pulled a goal back for Southampton eight minutes into the second half, only to have it ruled narrowly offside by the video assistant referee. The score stayed at 4–0 for much of the second half, before Martial scored his first goal in nine games in the 69th minute. McTominay scored United's sixth with a low shot from outside the penalty area two minutes later. United were eventually awarded a penalty in the 87th minute when Martial was denied a goalscoring opportunity in the penalty area by Bednarek, who was sent off, reducing Southampton to nine men;

converted the spot-kick to make the score 7–0. Martial then added United's eighth goal in the 90th minute, the first time he had scored more than once in a game since his hat-trick against Sheffield United in June 2020, before fellow substitute Daniel James, who had come on for Rashford in the second half, completed the 9–0 scoreline in the final minute of second-half stoppage time. Manchester United's complete dominance was reflected in the

expected goals In association football, expected goals (xG) is a performance metric used to evaluate football team and player performance. It can be used to represent the probability of a scoring opportunity that may result in a goal. It is also used in ice hoc ...

(xG) metric, creating 3.7 xG in comparison to just 0.5 xG from Southampton.

Details

Statistics

Aftermath and reaction

It was the second time in Premier League history, since the league's inception in 1992, that Manchester United had recorded a 9–0 victory; the first was in March 1995 against

. The only other 9–0 scoreline in the league's history also saw Southampton on the losing side, having lost at home to

in October 2019. Among the three wins, this was the only one without any player scoring a hat-trick. Excluding Bednarek's own goal, Manchester United had seven players on the score sheet, equalling the record for the most players to have scored for the same team in a single match in Premier League history, set by

in an 8–0 win over

in December 2012. The result moved Manchester United level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table on 44 points, although City's goal difference was still better by five goals, despite United's winning margin; City also had two games in hand; a 2–0 away win over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

the following night restored their three-point advantage at the top of the table. City and United would finish first and second at the end of the season. After the defeat, Jankewitz was subjected to racist abuse on social media, which Southampton passed on to the

Hampshire Constabulary The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The force area ...

. Southampton appealed the red card issued to Bednarek, which was subsequently rescinded by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

. Southampton also requested that Mike Dean and Lee Mason not officiate their future fixtures. In August 2022, the result was equalled by

's 9–0 win over AFC Bournemouth, the fourth match in Premier League history to be won by such a scoreline.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester United F.C. 9-0 Southampton F.C. 2020–21 Premier League Manchester United v Southampton 2021 Southampton 2021 Manchester United 2021 Record association football wins February 2021 sports events in the United Kingdom 2020s in Greater Manchester