Manchester United beat nine-man Southampton 9-0 on Tuesday to tie the biggest margin of victory in a Premier League match.
It came 15 months after Southampton lost by the same score line at home to Leicester, for the heaviest-ever home defeat.
Southampton had 19-year-old midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz sent off after 82 seconds and was trailing 6-0 when Jan Bednarek also received a red card for a foul on Anthony Martial in the penalty area in the 86th.
United scored three more late goals and matched its biggest-ever win in the Premier League, having also beaten Ipswich 9-0 in 1995.
“What can I say? It is horrible,” Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said. “But we stood up after the first 9-0 and we have to do that again.
Highlights:
“I said at the time we do not need it again, but when we have it again you have to take it.”
United moved level on points with first-place Manchester City, behind only on goal difference.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani added to the own-goal by Bednarek as United went into halftime 4-0 ahead. Martial replaced Cavani for the second half and scored twice, with Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James also netting.
“It’s easy to take your foot off the gas but we didn’t want to do that,” Rashford said. “We went out in the second half the same as the first.
“The first half set the tone for us but it’s about keeping a positive attitude and keep scoring goals.”
United’s goal difference is now +19, only five less than City’s.
One more goal would have tied United’s club record, a 10-0 victory over Anderlecht in the European Cup in 1956.
Sheffield United win again in bid for great escape in EPL
Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp, center, celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the English Premier League match between Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion at Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield, England, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, Pool)
Sheffield United’s improbable quest to escape relegation from the Premier League gathered pace as the last-place team came from behind to beat fellow struggler West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on Tuesday.
After failing to win any of its first 17 games — a first in the Premier League — United has now won three of its last five. There might still be a 10-point gap to fourth-from-last Brighton, but there is hope now for Chris Wilder’s team.
“I have a group that are alive and kicking and fighting for their lives,” Wilder said.
Billy Sharp forced home the scruffy winner from close range in the 74th minute, having also netted the clinching goal in a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Jan. 12 that saw the team finally earn three points for the first time this season.
Wilder said he was about to substitute Sharp when the striker reacted to a loose ball in the area and prodded it into the net.
“He was coming off!” Wilder said. “It’s the life and times of a manager.”
Highlights:
West Brom, which is second to last and now only one point above Sheffield United, took the lead in the 41st when Matt Phillips tucked away a loose ball from inside the six-yard box after home goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale produced two great saves to deny first Callum Robinson and then Mbaye Diagne.
Jayden Bogle equalized in the 56th, scoring for the second time this season with a shot on the turn after a foraging run into the area from Chris Basham — one of Sheffield United’s overlapping center backs.
“I’m sick of repeating myself,” said West Brom manager Sam Allardyce, whose team has only earned five points in nine games since he took over in mid-December. “Until we learn at this level to stop goals — scruffy goals that could have been avoided — it’s an uphill battle.”
Luiz, Leno sent off as Arsenal lose 2-1 at Wolves
Arsenal’s David Luiz reacts as he is shown a red card during the English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (Shaun Botterill/Pool via AP)
Arsenal had defender David Luiz and goalkeeper Bernd Leno sent off either side of a stunning 30-meter strike by João Moutinho that sealed a 2-1 win for Wolverhampton in an action-packed Premier League game on Tuesday.
Leading 1-0 thanks to Nicolas Pépé’s 32nd-minute goal, Arsenal started its implosion when Luiz was given a straight red card for pulling back Willian José as the Wolves striker burst into the penalty area. Ruben Neves converted into the top corner from the spot in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Another Portugal center midfielder, Moutinho, gave Wolves the lead when he collected the ball in a central position, took a touch, and smashed a rising drive in off the post in the 49th.
And Arsenal’s evening got worse in the 72nd as Leno came out of his area to clear the ball away, but misjudged its flight and ended up bundling it out of play with his right arm. The German goalkeeper got a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, with Adama Traore having been attempting to latch onto the ball.
Highlights:
Wolves wasn’t able to take further advantage of its numerical superiority but eased to a win that ended Arsenal’s seven-match unbeaten run in the league, which had lifted Mikel Arteta’s team back in sight of the European positions.
“The team was really on top of the game, we should have been 3-0 or 4-0 up and in that action the game changed completely,” Arteta said of Luiz’s red card.
“The team kept trying, kept playing, kept believing,” he continued. “At halftime, the boys were so animated because they believed they could still win the game. Obviously it was an incredible goal from long range. Before that, they didn’t have any chances. But still we lost and we have to react.”
Since taking charge of Arsenal in December 2019, Arteta has seen his players collect nine red cards. That’s six more than any other Premier League team in that time.
It was Wolves’ first win in nine league games, since beating Chelsea 2-1 on Dec. 15.
