- Graziano Pelle opened the scoring inside 15 minutes off a rebound
- Anthony Martial pulled it back level after the half-hour mark
- Martial got a second for the lead and Juan Mata finished it off
Mocked, jibed, and ridiculed, 19-year-old Anthony Martial is not only silencing the doubters in record pace, he’s sending them scampering home tails between their legs.
Martial scored a brace on his full debut - his second and third goals for Manchester United in just 115 minutes - and Juan Mata capped it off as Manchester United came back from a goal down to beat Southampton 3-2 at St Mary’s.
Southampton looked the team with more intent off the start, and after the first 10 minutes they had their first real opportunity off a cross from Tadic just out of reach of Graziano Pelle.
It would come just moments for Pelle later however, and Manchester United would go 1-0 down. The ball came to James Ward-Prowse on the right, and his first-time cross found Sadio Mane all alone in the box. His point-blank shot came crashing off David De Gea, but the rebound came to Pelle who easily touched home for the opener.
[ RELATED: Watch full match replays ]
Manchester United controlled much of the possession, but Southampton continued to be dangerous as Pelle hit the post moments later after being played in by Oriol Romeu.
Finally, as the game dragged on, Manchester United would find an equalizer on 34 minutes. A header forward fell to Juan Mata, and Maya Yoshida dispossessed him in the box on a clean tackle. With every United player and fan screaming for a penalty, Yoshida’s tackle poked the ball right to an unmarked Anthony Martial, who struck the ball home for his second goal in two games for the Red Devils.
3 - Anthony Martial is only the third player to score in both of his first two PL apps for @ManUtd alongside L.Saha & F.Macheda. Exciting.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 20, 2015
Martial would get a second just after halftime as he sliced through the Southampton defense and snatched a terrible backpass from Yoshida, finishing cooly past Maarten Stekelenburg for the lead.
[ MORE: Click here for full lineups, stats, box score ]
With the lead, it was De Gea’s turn to star. A free header in the box from Jose Fonte on the hour mark was surely goal bound, but the Spaniard went full-stretch to brilliantly save the point-blank effort.
Finally, the visitors put the game away with a third on 68 minutes. Memphis Depay completed a stunning turn in the box with the outside of his foot, and while his shot clanged the post, the rebound fell to Juan Mata who slammed the ball into the open net.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]
The Saints made things interesting with a goal in the final five minutes, as Mane found Pelle for an open header in the box which the Italian buried, but it was too little too late. De Gea needed a pair of fantastic saves in added time to keep it that way as Wanyama ripped a curler from distance and saw the Spaniard go full stretch to keep him out.
The win for Manchester United - their third of the season and second straight - put the Red Devils second in the league table, leaping over West Ham who won earlier today. Southampton, meanwhile, suffered their first loss in a month and remain on just six points, in the bottom third of the table.