Manchester United’s dismal run of results in December continued with a third consecutive league draw as they were held 0-0 at home to Southampton on Saturday, dropping to third in the Premier League standings below Liverpool.
United had top scorer Romelu Lukaku carried off on a stretcher early in the game and looked stricken of any thrust or creativity in attack, ending the month with four wins from nine games in all competitions and without a victory in their last four.
Jose Mourinho’s side began brightly and Lukaku came close to giving them the lead in the third minute when he headed a Juan Mata cross over the bar while Jesse Lingard also narrowly missed the target before the interval with a flicked header.
Paul Pogba had a late strike ruled out as he knocked Anthony Martial’s rolling shot in from an offside position when the ball looked destined to hit the post, while Southampton were not far from nicking a first win in eight games when Shane Long saw his shot turned over the crossbar by the toe of David de Gea.
