And the Reds go marching on, on, on

Andre Onana had other ideas.

The Cameroon international leapt brilliantly to his right and thwarted the striker's effort and, from that very moment, the tide on the south coast shifted.

Less than 10 minutes later and the Reds were ahead, brilliantly crafted by Bruno Fernandes and expertly headed into the corner by Matthijs de Ligt.

Our Indomitable Lion had roared Erik ten Hag's team into life and confidence started flowing.

Fast passing, incisive attacking and, more importantly, ruthless finishing followed.

Marcus Rashford gave Aaron Ramsdale no chance with his low strike into the corner and established United a deserved two-goal lead, just eight minutes after we had stared a very different outcome in the face.

The second half wasn't as thrilling as the first, in truth, but that doesn't mean it didn't have flash points and substitute Alejandro Garnacho was at the centre of them both.

As the Reds comfortably controlled possession and looked to add a third goal, Erik introduced our no.17.

He was instantly involved, being ruthlessly hacked down by Jack Stephens, and the Southampton man was dismissed with a straight red card.

The winger refused rise to the incessant fouling or jeers of the home crowd and instead had the last laugh, netting brilliantly in the dying moments before wheeling away and sitting on the advertising hoardings in front of a jubilant away end.

'Viva Garnacho' echoed around St Mary's with the Reds having sealed the victory after a professional performance.

Of course, we cannot ignore the start of the match where the Saints had the better of the play and won that penalty.

But confidence breeds confidence and, in saving that initial penalty, Onana laid the foundations from which United went on to thrive in Southampton.

The Reds took to the stage and made it our own.