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Football

08th Dec 2014

Vintage Van Persie sends United third

Dutch striker netted twice as Red Devils win fifth in a row

Gareth Makim

Remember when Robin van Persie almost single-handedly won Fergie that last title?

Well the striker turned back the clock at Southampton as Manchester United beat the hosts 2-1 in the first ever Premier League meeting of two Dutch managers.

The victory was United’s fifth in succession, lifting them above Southampton to third in the Premier League.

But while Louis van Gaal’s men picked up the points, it was, for the most part, a pretty awful United display, with even Wayne Rooney falling foul of the visitors’ malaise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8FD_n8MN9E

Van Persie opened the scoring when he pounced on this ill-advised Jose Fonte backpass.

But Graziano Pelle was on hand to level matters when he reacted to punish some indecisive United defending as Saints dominated the error-prone Red Devils.

United looked all over the place at times, and Southampton boss Ronald Koeman saw his forwards, including Ireland’s Shane Long, guilty of squandering several chances before Van Persie popped up again at the back post to claim the winner.  

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