FULL-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 2-3 MANCHESTER UNITED
Fact of the second half: That winner is Van Persie's 100th Premier League goal. He is the second Dutchman to manage that after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (127).
There it is. Game over at St Mary's and what a match it was. Hat-trick for Van Persie stops a valiant Southampton side who led twice. United didn't lead until the 92nd minute.
And Ferdinand survives shouts for a penalty for climbing on De Prado...
90+4 minutes: But nothing comes of it. However they do have a throw-in in the United half....
90+3 minutes: Good save by Davis and here come the home team on the counter...
90+2 minutes: GOAL!! Southampton 2-3 Manchester United (Van Persie) And the corner is swung in by Nani and headed in at the near post by £24 million man Van Persie!!!!
90+1 minutes: Corner to United...
And there will be 4 minutes of added time....
And it results in a Ward-Prowse blocked shot.
89 minutes: Great corner excellently headed away by Nemanja Vidic, another corner coming up...
87 minutes: GOAL!! Southampton 2-2 Manchester United (Van Persie) The corner goes all the way through to Rafael whose cross finds an unmarked Rio Ferdinand who nods on to the post only for Van Persie to sweep in the re-bound!!
87 minutes: Magnificent tackle by Nathaniel Clyne to deny Chicharito. Corner coming up...
86 minutes: A Rafael cross finds Javier Hernandez but he heads well wide, never write United off though...
85 minutes: The Red Devils are coming forward in numbers here but Adkins's men are holding out, albeit they are sitting back very deep now...
83 minutes: Southampton kick the ball out of play because Rafael is injured... 7 minutes to go
81 minutes: But Southampton win the ball back and break away and win a free-kick to relieve the pressure...
80 minutes: Corner to United...
77 minutes: The 12-time Premier League champions are really piling on the pressure now, but the Saints are holding out admirably.
Southampton substitutions: Emmanuel Mayuka on for Jason Puncheon and De Prado on for Rickie Lambert
That was Robin Van Persie's first Premier League penalty miss since Arsenal lost 8-2 to United last year!
Manchester United substitution: Javier Hernandez on for Danny Welbeck
71 minutes: Van Persie twists and turns inside the box before firing well over with his right foot.
SAVED BY DAVIS! Weak penalty taken left-footed by Van Persie is easily turned behind by Kelvin Davis!
Penalty to Manchester United: Kelvin Davies gives the ball away and Nani finds van Persie who is brought down stupidly by Hooiveld!
67 minutes: Rickie Lambert springs the off-side trap and bides his time before trying to pick out Ward-Prowse... but it is a great block by Ferdinand!
66 minutes: The game goes into a bit of a lull as both sides battle it out in midfield.
64 minutes: Rickie Lambert sets up Lallana but his shot is magnificently blocked by Patrice Evra!!
Meanwhile at St James's Park Newcastle have equalised against Aston Villa through Hatem Ben Arfa.
Scholes almost has an instant impact as he slides the ball through for Van Persie but his shot is well saved by Davis.
62 minutes: Manchester United substitutes: Scholes for Cleverley and Nani for Kagawa
61 minutes: Puncheon once again finds plenty of room in the United box, down the left this time, but he opts to shoot instead of cross and he blazes miles over.
59 minutes: Another looping cross almost reaches Lambert but is brilliantly headed away on the stretch by Rafael.
57 minutes: Puncheon gets into space down United's right but his shot is saved low down at his near post by Anders Lindegaard.
55 minutes: GOAL!! Southampton 2-1 Manchester United (Schneiderlin) Un-believe-able! The stadium erupts as Schneiderlin is found in acres of space to head in past Lindegaard!! Poor defending by United! 2-1!
54 minutes: A terrible pass by Kelvin Davis is intercepted by Valencia and he puts it on a plate for Van Persie inside the Southampton box in plenty of space but he hits it wide!
United have had seven wins out of their last eight visits to Southampton in the Premier League...
52 minutes: Vidic goes for a header that he was never going to get and Southampton have a free-kick just outside the centre-circle... It comes to nothing though, despite Saints claims for a corner.
51 minutes: Jason Puncheon, who has been very good today, cuts inside on to his left foot but sees his shot very well blocked by a sliding Michael Carrick.
49 minutes: Nice touch by Van Persie finds Shinji Kagawa who creates space for a shot and drags it inches wide with his left foot.
48 minutes: The away side starting with plenty of the ball and Vidic tries to release Rafael but the ball goes out of play.
46 minutes: United were out bright and early for the second half and we are back in play with no changes to either side.
The second half is just about to get under way now and the expectations at St Mary's are rising after an excellent first preiod by the home team.
In the other game going on now it is Newcastle United 0-1 Aston Villa thanks to a 22nd minute goal by Ciaran Clark.
I really don't think that United can afford to drop any more points right now, 4 points from three matches would be a very poor start. Expect a United barrage come the beginning of the second half.
Nigel Adkins has a winning percentage of 60.40 at Southampton so far and they are looking very good so far today and an upset is well on the cards.
Fact of the first half: In Robin Van Persie's last two Premier League games versus Southampton he scored his first Premiership goal and then received his first Premier League red card.
So an entertaining first half comes to an end with the sides level at 1-1. Sir Alex's men have not been at their best but Southampton have looked very lively. Nigel Adkins will be very happy with the first 45 minutes while United's players will be facing some choice words from their boss...
Half-time: Southampton 1-1 Manchester United
45+1 minutes: Great ball over the top from Michael Carrick finds Robin Van Persie but his first touch flies off his shin and out of play. The first half is petering out here...
44 minutes: Plenty of United pressure now, but no real chances are being created. The pace of the match has slowed in the last few minutes as the Red Devils's midfield have taken the sting out of it, at least momentarily.
41 minutes: Schneiderlin finds plenty of space and has a chance to release Lallana but puts it behind him. He goes down under a Ferdinand challenge just outside the box but referee Mike Dean says no.
40 minutes: Valencia gets away again and this time finds a deep cross which Patrice Evra meets running in to force Kelvin Davies into a parried save at his near post.
37 minutes: United free-kick gets them possession back and they keep the ball for a long period of time before Antonio Valencia gets away down the right and wins a throw-in.
36 minutes: Free-kick conceded by Vidic for climbing on Rickie Lambert. Southampton push high up the pitch again. Fonte gets forward and nearly gets in down the right.... Good spell from the home team.
34 minutes: Southampton are playing really well here and are definitely on top. Rickie Lambert is winning header after header against Vidic and Ferdinand. Another lovely passing move ends with Lallana firing low and wide. Lindegaard always had it covered.
32 minutes: Ward-Prowse dribbles a long-range effort well wide.
31 minutes: Lovely through ball by Puncheon finds Lallana but after a great turn his looping cross is cleared.
29 minutes: It looked to be tailor-made for the Flying Dutchman, but he tries a floating left-footed effort and it drifts harmlessly wide.
28 minutes: Free-kick for United 20 yards out, dead centre.
27 minute: Ball finds it way to Van Persie on the right corner of the opposition box but this time his first time left-footed strike sails over.
25th minute: Southampton almost find an immediate response through talisman Rickie Lambert, his shot from the edge of the box flies just wide. Great game this.
23rd minute: GOAL!! Southampton 1-1 Manchester United (Van Persie) A deep cross is missed by everyone in the Southampton box and it finds his way to Robin Van Persie who controls on his chest before lashing a left-footed volley across goal past a helpless Kelvin Davies. Game on, its 1-1.
21 minute: Manchester United corner once again comes to nothing but they are getting some possession in the Southampton half now.
19 minutes: This game is being played at a furious pace and the home side are snapping away at United's heels and look very dangerous when they do come forward. Another United move breaks down on the edge of the box.
16 minutes: GOAL!! Southampton 1-0 Manchester United (Lambert) Great finish by Rickie Lambert as he peels off the back of Rafael to head in a dinked Jason Puncheon cross. Excellent header back across goal giving Lindegaard no chance. St Mary's is bouncing!
15 minutes: Morgan Schneiderlin sends a shot high and wide, there is a reason why he has never scored a goal at St Mary's...
Clever corner by Southampton as all the men pile on top of Lindegaard but the delivery is sent low along the floor and Adam Lallana scuffs his shot when he could have done a lot better.
13 minutes: Corner to the Saints...
11 minutes: Poor cross by Fox from the left but Southampton just starting to get a foothold in this match.
9 minutes: Rickie Lambert nearly gets in but is stopped by Rio Ferdinand, good sign for Southampton that their front man can cause some problems.
6 minutes: Robin van Persie chests the ball down on the left angle of the box but slips as he hits his volleys and it dribbles wide. Unite dlook dangerous already though, Carrick pulling the strings.
5 minutes: The away team are on top here but Southampton are battling hard.
3 minutes: Free-kick comes to nothing and the game starts to settle down. Ferguson looking ponderous in his 1000th league game in charge.
2 minutes: Early corner for United cleared but a free-kick has been won by Rafael in a dangerous position...
Here are the full line-ups:
Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Puncheon, Steven Davis, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Lambert. Subs: Gazzaniga, Rodriguez, Lee, Do Prado, Richardson, Mayuka, Seaborne.
Man Utd: Lindegaard, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Cleverley, Carrick, Welbeck, van Persie, Kagawa. Subs: De Gea, Evans, Giggs, Hernandez, Nani, Scholes, Powell.
Welcome to the live text coverage of this evening's Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester United. Southampton will have dreamt of matches like this when they were in League One just two years ago.
Great commentary.....
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