Fernandes gives Man United 1-0 win over Southampton in EPL

SOUTHAMPTON, England: Manchester United’s stand-in captain Bruno Fernandes made their back-to-back wins for Erik ten Hag’s team by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday. Wearing the captain’s armband in place of the still-benched Harry Maguire, Fernandes steered in a cross from Diogo Dalot in the 55th minute as United followed up Monday’s win over Liverpool with another morale-boosting performance.

Having started the season with two straight losses — including a 4-0 drubbing at Brentford — United have now won consecutive league matches for the first time since February. It was also the team’s first clean sheet of the season, thanks in part to David de Gea’s reflex save to keep out a header from Joe Aribo in the 66th.

It’s a result that will give a bit more breathing space to Ten Hag, the Dutch manager who faced a torrent of criticism and skepticism after the team’s dismal start to the campaign. Ten Hag’s decisions to leave Maguire and star forward Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench were vindicated once again, with center-back pairing Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane looking solid in defense.

United did struggle to create quality chances in the first half, although Ten Hag was shaking his head in disbelief that his team didn’t go ahead in the 20th minute when they had three shots on goal from close range in the span of a few seconds. Anthony Elanga’s effort from a tight angle was saved by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu before Fernandes and Christian Eriksen both had their follow-up shots blocked by diving defenders.