Goalkeeper Andre Onana saved a penalty as Man Utd beat Southampton 3-0 in the early round of the Premier League.

Matthijs de Ligt scored his first goal in seven months, Marcus Rashford ended a 12-match goal drought, and Alejandro Garnacho sealed a crucial win for Man Utd at St Mary’s. The Red Devils could have won by a bigger margin if new signing Joshua Zirkzee had not missed a chance near the end of the match. However, the visitors got the lead from Onana with a penalty save when the score was 0-0.

The victory did not come easily as Man Utd were on the back foot in the opening 30 minutes, including a careless foul by Diogo Dalot on 18-year-old midfielder Tyler Dibling that resulted in a penalty being awarded. However, Onana shone when he dived in the right direction to the left corner to save a penalty from striker Cameron Archer, saving the Red Devils.

The last time Onana saved a penalty for Man Utd was almost a year ago, in the 1-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League. Since then, Man Utd have conceded eight times in a row from penalties until the match on September 14. Since then, the game has turned around.

Thanks to two set pieces, Man Utd scored two goals in six minutes. In the 35th minute, from a cleared corner, midfielder Bruno Fernandes crossed the ball into the penalty area for De Ligt to dive down and head the ball into the far corner, opening the score. This was also the Dutch centre-back’s first goal for Man Utd. In the 41st minute, receiving the ball on the left side of the penalty area from Amad Diallo’s pass, Rashford shot low into the far corner, hitting the inside of the post and into the net.