Southampton made unwanted Premier League history TWICE with defeat to Manchester United

Southampton's dismal start to the season continued with a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United and allowed them to create unwanted Premier League history TWICE.

Goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils in control before a red card for Jack Stephens secured three points for an under-pressure Erik ten Hag, with Alejandro Garnacho adding a third late on.

The defeat means that, after four games played, Southampton They have yet to win a single point on their return to the Premier League.

Their latest defeat is their 400th in English football's top flight, and Saints are now only the fifth club to do so in the competition's history.

However, Russell Martin's side have done so in fewer games than any other team, with those defeats coming in just 928 matches.

By comparison, West Ham reached that figure in 976 games, Aston Villa in 1,072 games, Newcastle in 1,090 games and Everton in 1,128 matches.

In addition to this, Southampton have become the first Premier League team to lose each of their opening four games in three different seasons.

The Saints previously did so in 1998/99 and 2012/13, the last time they were promoted.

Southampton remain in the bottom three of the Premier League and will face other relegation-threatened teams such as Everton and Ipswich Town.

And boss Russell Martin knows defeat will only pile further pressure on his future on the south coast.

He came in for heavy criticism for his decision to play out from the back despite his centre-backs appearing limited in their ability to do so.

Danny Murphy was among those who criticized Martin.

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And the Saints boss insisted he was not feeling the pressure ahead of the defeat to Manchester United.

He said: “It's not overwhelming at all – it's the job.”

“I don't like it either, it's not a problem, but it doesn't bother me at all, it's part of the job. Last season was the same.

“Last season we had a period at the beginning where we had a very bad time and then people could say what they wanted with very few resources.

“People who don't see us often but judge us by an eight-minute highlight reel. The same people who said things last season talked afterwards about what a brilliant job I've done.

“They said I needed to make a change, it will be the same people who are doing it now after three games. I treat everything the same way, whether it's positive or negative.

“The people here are the only ones I worry about. The people who work with me every day, who know me, who understand us and know what we want.

“The noise is increasing in the Premier League, but it doesn't really impact or affect what I do or what we do,” Martin continued.

“I find it very interesting and sometimes I quite enjoy some of the comments. I think some people would love to play with a team like this.

“They are really good players and they understand what we do and why we do it, but people are paid to have an opinion, sometimes based on very little evidence.

“You can say whatever you want and you won't be called out for it two or three months later, whereas anything I say will be questioned at any time.”

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