Five things we learned from Southampton v Manchester United

After half an hour, Mark Hughes' side were dominating the game, but in a frantic nine minutes, allowed United back into the tie.

Here are five things we learned from the match.

1. Stuart Armstrong is continuing to grow in cofidence:

Stuart Armstrong rifled in Saints' first goal

After leaving Fulham with two Premier League goals to his name, it would have been easy for the midfielder to have a bit of a lull.

But this hasn't been the case and Armstrong seems to only be getting better by the game.

It's clear to see that his confidence is growing with every match that he plays and his goal against Manchester United was tucked away superbly.

If he can continue to influence the game from midfield, he might just be able to lift the burden off the Saints attackers.

2. Nathan Redmond showed signs he is close to being back to his best:

Nathan Redmond skips past Nemanja Matic

By his own admission, Redmond has been off the boil recently.

However, against Leicester and United, he showed signs that he is close to being back to his destructive best.

Redmond gave Jose Mourinho's defence a torrid time in the first half and it was a dazzling run of his that led to Armstrong getting the first goal.

The winger was quieter in the second half, but if he is able to maintain that level of performance over the festive period, he will cause a lot of problems for the opposition.

3. Yan Valery more than held his own

Yan Valery in action against Man Utd

There hasn't been much to cheer about of late at St Mary's, but the introduction of Valery has definitely been a positive.

The 19-year-old was thrust into the spotlight at Leicester and coped tremendously well on his Saints debut.

He was then picked at right-back for the United match and rose to the occasion remarkably well given the opposition and his age.

Valery more than held his own against some of the world's best players and his youthfulness energised the Saints defence.

4. Mark Hughes didn't shy away from making the big calls:

Saints boss Mark Hughes

It would have been easy for Hughes to pick a more experienced side for the visit of Manchester United.

He could have gone for Charlie Austin, Wesley Hoedt and Manolo Gabbiadini, but he showed his faith in players like Michael Obafemi and Valery.

By dropping Hoedt and leaving out Austin for a big game at home showed that despite being under enormous pressure, he isn't scared to take a risk.

5. Cedric knows how to take a free-kick:

Cedric's free-kick flies past a stretching David De Gea

When Cedric stood over the free-kick, no one expected anything to come from it.

But unbeknown to us, it turns out he has a talent in scoring from them. 

He must have been taking notice of Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kicks during his time with Portugal over the last few years.

Cedric struck it perfectly and left David De Gea no chance in the United net to double Saints' lead in the match.