Southampton 2-3 Manchester United
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Robin van Persie grabbed a hat-trick as Manchester United edged a five-goal thriller against Southampton at St Mary's.
The visitors started strongly as both Rafael and Van Persie came close in the opening ten minutes. However, it was Southampton who broke the deadlock when Rickie Lambert met Jason Puncheon's sublime curling cross at the back post to head Saints in front on 16 minutes. The lead didn't last long however, as Van Persie controlled Antonio Valencia's cross with his chest before firing a left-footed effort beyond Kelvin Davis in the Saints goal eight minutes later. Van Persie had a great chance to give United the lead just before the break but he failed to control a chipped pass from Michael Carrick and allowed the ball to run harmlessly out of play. The hosts reclaimed the lead on 56 minutes when Patrice Evra slipped as he tried to cut out Lambert's cross, allowing Morgan Schneiderlin time and space to run in and plant a header into the bottom corner beyond Anders Lindegaard. After Saints took the lead for a second time United struggled and could have fallen further behind before Van Persie won a penalty after being brought down by Jos Hooiveld with 20 minutes remaining. The Dutchman stepped up to take it himself and tried a deft chipped finish into the corner from the spot kick, but Davis did well to recover and claw Van Persie's shot around the post. United continued to push for an equaliser and were camped in the Saints half for the majority of the final stages. The hosts managed to hold out until 87 minutes when Rafael launched the ball into the box after Saints had only half cleared a corner, Rio Ferdinand's header came back off the post, but the ball fell to Van Persie who made no mistake as he levelled the score from close range. Javier Hernandez won United another corner after two minutes of added time and Nani's delivery was well met by Van Persie, who headed home to complete his treble and secure the win for the visitors in boss Sir Alex Ferguson's 1000th league game in charge.
