Odion Ighalo was an unused substitute as Manchester United were forced to a 2-2 draw at home to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men, denying the Reds the chance to leapfrog Leicester City and Chelsea into the third spot on the league table.
The Nigerian forward has scored five goals in five cup games since his January move to the Theatre of Dreams. Still, he continued his search for a first Premier League goal for United after sitting the encounter against stubborn Southampton.
After Chelsea and Leicester were both thrashed at the weekend, United knew they could fly past both into third place with a win at Old Trafford against a Saints side that was in 12th position at kick-off.
But it was Southampton who started brilliantly and drew the first blood early on when Ings robbed Pogba on the edge of the area with Redmond crossing for Armstrong to fire home.
United’s response was equally brilliant.
Moments after Rashford saw his fine finish ruled out for offside, the England international pulled his side level by slamming a shot into the bottom corner after good work from Martial.
Martial then turned the game on its head two minutes later, coming infield from the left and finding the top corner to notch his 50th Premier League goal.
Both teams spurned chances to add to the scoreline after the interval, but it was Michael Obafemi who earned a point for the visitors late on with a simple tap in from a Jan Bednarek assist.
