Southampton create unwanted history twice with defeat to Manchester United

Southampton’s sorry start to the season continued with a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United and it sees them create unwanted Premier League history TWICE.

Goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils in control before a Jack Stephens red card ensured three points for an under-fire Erik ten Hag, with Alejandro Garnacho adding a late third.

The loss means that, after four games played, Southampton are yet to win a single point on their Premier League return.

Their latest defeat is also their 400th in the English top-flight, with the Saints now the fifth club to do so in the competition’s history.

However, the south coast club have done so in fewer games than any other side, with those losses coming in just 928 fixtures.

In comparison, West Ham reached that tally in 976 matches, Aston Villa in 1,072 games, Newcastle in 1,090 outings and Everton in 1,128.

As well as this, Southampton have become the first Premier League side to lose each of their four opening matches over three different seasons.

The Saints previously did so in the 1998/99 and 2012/13 campaigns, of which the latter was the last time they were a promoted side.

Southampton remain in the Premier League bottom-three and will next face fellow relegation-threatened sides Everton and Ipswich Town.

And boss Russell Martin knows defeat will only further increase the pressure surrounding his future on the south coast.

He came under fierce criticism for his decision to play out from the back despite his centre-backs looking limited in their ability to do so.

Danny Murphy was among those to call out Martin.

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And the Saints manager insisted he wasn’t feeling the pressure prior to the defeat to Manchester United.

He said: “It’s not overwhelming at all – it’s the job.

“I don’t enjoy it either, it’s not a problem but it doesn’t overwhelm me one bit, it’s just part of the job. It was the same last season.

“We had a period last season at the start where we had a really tough time and then people can say what they want with very little recourse.

“People who don’t watch us often but judge us on an eight-minute highlight reel. The same people who said things last season then spoke about what a brilliant job I’ve done.

“They said I need to make a change, they’ll be the same people who are doing that now after three games. I treat it all the same, whether it’s positive or negative.

“The people here are the only ones I am concerned about. The people who work with me every day, who know me, who understand us and what we want.

“The noise heightens in the Premier League but it really doesn’t impact or affect what I do, what we do,” Martin continued.

“I find it quite interesting and sometimes quite enjoy some of the comments. Certain people that I think would love to play with a team like this.

“They’re really good players and they understand what we do and why we do it, but people are paid to have an opinion, and sometimes based on very little evidence.

“You can say what you want and don’t get called back about it two or three months later, whereas everything I say, you will question at any point.”

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