Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised his Manchester United players for showing ‘the magic’ after equalling the Premier League’s record winning margin with a 9-0 thrashing of Southampton.
United produced a ruthless attacking display to move level on points with league leaders Manchester City, making their advantage count after Southampton teenager Alexandre Jankewitz was sent off just 76 seconds into his debut for a wild and ugly challenge on Scott McTominay.
Anthony Martial scored twice with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James all on the scoresheet, with Jan Bednarek – who was later sent off as Southampton finished with nine men – also scoring an own goal.
The win equalled the record Premier League victory first set by the Red Devils’ 9-0 thrashing of Ipswich in 1995 and later matched by Leicester last season, coincidentally also against Southampton.
Solskjaer was delighted with his side’s clinical performance after a run of just one win in their past four league fixtures, admitting his players will take confidence from a ruthless attacking performance.
The shortest of debuts for Alex Jankewitz tonight. #MUNSOU pic.twitter.com/BkDwXFr1FE
— The Football Faithful (@FootyFaithfuI) February 2, 2021
“We shared the goals between the players,” he told BT Sport. “When the game starts like it does it’s always if you can get the first goal as we have seen so many examples of 10 men closing up shop and getting a draw.
“We’ve been waiting for them to show the magic and it was a night for them to go and enjoy it. We’ve not had many times where we could just enjoy the second half.
“You get lots of confidence from a performance like this, scoring goals is always good for a team.”
Marcus Rashford surprisingly said that Jankewitz was unlucky to see red so early in the game, though Solskjaer with was pleased with Mike Dean’s early decision to brandish a red, insisting that he was relieved that Scott McTominay walked away relatively unscathed from a high and reckless challenge.
“You don’t see many of those tackles anymore,” he said. “I’m glad Scott is well and he’s got away with just a couple of bruises.”
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