Manchester United fluff their lines against Southampton as missed chances become a theme

Manchester United are wearily familiar with the script. “It was very similar, unfortunately,” sighed Ralf Rangnick. The opposition changed, but not much else. For the third consecutive game, United took a lead, lost it and failed to beat supposedly inferior opponents.

Once again, they could lament their wastefulness, with disallowed goals and spurned chances again accounting for a struggle to score twice in a match. For the sixth time in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score. His longest drought since 2009 has spanned the whole of 2022.

Missed opportunities were a theme, with United passing up the chance to return to the top four. Carry on at this rate and the Europa League may beckon for them.

For Southampton, beaten 9-0 at Old Trafford last season, there was revenge and respectability. “From 0-9 to 1-1,” grinned Ralph Hasenhuttl. “A point here is a big signal.”

His team have had a terrific week and Che Adams, scorer of their winner at Tottenham, added an equaliser against United. In the irrepressible Stuart Armstrong, the forceful Armando Broja and the excellent Romain Perraud, they had a host of impressive performers and were the better team for spells.

United could lament the defiance of Fraser Forster. Busy throughout, he made an outstanding injury-time save to deny Harry Maguire a winner but the reality is that United have had 64 shots against Middlesbrough, Burnley and Saints and only scored three goals that counted. “We are just not effective enough if you compare the amount of chances we create and score,” said Rangnick.

He ended with six attack-minded players on the pitch but his team are insufficiently prolific and, as their frequent complaints to referee Stuart Attwell showed, too petulant.

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