Premier League: Ferrnandes On Target As Manchester United Pip Southampton

Manchester United earned a hard-fought 1-0 over Southampton at St Mary's Stadium to record a second consecutive Premier League win courtesy of a goal from Bruno Fernandes.

The Reds earned their first win of the season beating Liverpool 2-1 on Monday.

Erik Ten Hag kept faith with the same lineup that defeated Liverpool, with captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo left to watch on from the sidelines again.

Southampton were resilient and also gave a good account of themselves, they survived a goalmouth scramble when Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu denied Anthony Elanga, and Armel Bella-Kotchap blocked the follow-up by Christian Eriksen.

The first half ended goalless but Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring with a volley from Diogo Dalot's cross to give Manchester United the lead in the 55th minute.

The win ended United's poor record of seven straight Premier League away defeats as they earned their first away win since February.

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag said there is room for improvement and admitted that the win against Liverpool gave the team the belief to go all out and win.

"It has to be the standard for Manchester United.

"It has to be normal, but also you celebrate every win because you have to fight for it. We learnt from our lesson in Brentford.

"There is room for improvement, but there was also some really good football.

"The last half an hour was a survival, and there I think we can do better.

"There was not always pressure on the ball, but [the defenders] stayed compact and were straight in the duals.

"I was comfortable that they would deal with it.

"The finish [from Bruno Fernandes] was magnificent, but the part before, it was a team goal.

"We built it up from the back, and there were some more moments straight after halftime where it was well played by the team. We have to improve in possession.

"The win against Liverpool gave us a lot of belief because we knew we could compete against one of the best teams in the world.

"Still, at the start of the season, it is really tough and hard work so everyone in the squad needs to be conscious of that.

Want-away Cristiano Ronaldo replaced Jadon Sancho in the 68th minute.

New signing, Casemiro made his Premier League debut when he replaced Anthony Elanga with ten minutes to go.

Manchester United will travel to Leicester City for their next Premier League game on September 1, while Southampton plays host to Chelsea.