Football: Southampton end United's unbeaten run

Manchester United's Angel Di Maria, centre right, fights for the ball against Southampton's Florin Gardos, left, as Nathaniel Clyne looks on during the English Premier League match. Photo / AP

Southampton ended Manchester United's 10-match unbeaten run in the Premier League this morning (NZT) with a 1-0 victory that dislodged Louis van Gaal's side from third place.

Dusan Tadic clinched Southampton's first win at Old Trafford in 27 years in the 69th minute to strengthen the south-coast team's chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.

"Overall we had the better chances, played the better football and deserved to win but we have been punished for not taking our chances," United captain Wayne Rooney said.

"I have seen Southampton play better to be honest. We stopped a lot of their threats."

But five minutes after coming off the bench, Tadic set up Graziano Pelle for a shot that hit the post. Tadic was then alert enough to send the rebound into the net with the game's only shot on target.

The Serbia midfielder did earn a booking for his celebration, taking off his shirt and flexing his muscles in front of the cameras.

"We showed good resilience, even if at some times it wasn't easy," Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin said.

"We had one opportunity and scored."Southampton is now two points ahead of fourth-place United, having recovered from a run of four successive league losses late in 2014.

"We went through a very hard patch in December and we showed good character (since then)," Schneiderlin said.

"We believe in each other that we can do something great this season. To win at Old Trafford is just a reward of the work we have put in. At the start of the season a lot of people were writing us off."

-AP