Erik ten Hag was finally able to enjoy a game without the kind of danger that had plagued his Manchester United so far this season. After four games of the season, ten Hag seemed shaky, but after an uncomfortable first half hour, well-taken goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford helped United to an unusually easy win. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho capped it off in style, hammering home United’s third goal in the 96th minute.

Southampton failed to manage a single shot on goal after Cameron Archer’s rebound from a missed penalty in the 33rd minute landed in the gloves of André Onana. And to make matters worse for the Saints, Jack Stephens was shown a red card straight away for a foul on Garnacho. It was a near-perfect day for Ten Hag, who brought on Manuel Ugarte for his United debut just before the end. This time the whistles in the closing stages were not for Ten Hag.

That United needed to save an Onana penalty to rouse themselves and inspire victory against a side who had not picked up a point since promotion is perhaps an indication of their peculiar and bewildering state. Eight minutes later they were 2-0 up and from that point on there was no looking back for a Southampton team who had given United an uncomfortable run for the first half hour or so. Things looked bleak until De Ligt headed United ahead. Captain Bruno Fernandes displayed what seemed to be his usual questionable body language and De Ligt, who had just returned from a nightmarish international break with the Netherlands, was left to fight fire in defence. Amad Diallo, who finished the game playing with defenders, emboldened the hosts with a couple of half-baked passes.

The fact that Southampton fans jeered Russell Martin’s decision to take Tyler Dibling off 63 minutes into his first Premier League game perhaps hints at their problems. The 18-year-old, who Martin predicts will become “an incredible player”, is the academy’s newest gem and he shone at times, finishing as a stunning light that made up for a fourth consecutive league defeat. Welcome back to the Premier League and all that.

Dibling, who made just one substitute appearance in the Championship last season, forced Onana into a brilliant right-handed save after drifting into Diogo Dalot and later won the penalty. Dibling paused, slowed Dalot down and then pressed play. Wearing small shin pads and socks rolled down to his ankles, the teenager sprinted past the left-back. In a desperate attempt to keep up the chase, Dalot tangled with Dibling on the edge of the box and referee Stuart Attwell awarded a penalty.

A few minutes later, Archer finally stepped up to take the penalty, but Onana parried an unconvincing effort from the bottom right. The ball bounced back to Archer like a boomerang and the striker had a chance on the rebound, but his header was unconvincing and ended up in the goalkeeper’s gloves. Then the United fans chanted the name of Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was now a pal of Ten Hag’s, and all was well.

Joshua Zirkzee’s shot deflected off Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips and United took the lead from the resulting corner thanks to a well-rehearsed routine. Christian Eriksen played a short pass to Fernandes, who whipped a cross into the box. United were in front, Zirkzee lurking behind De Ligt, who twisted in the air to generate enough power for a well-placed header.

A few minutes later, Ramsdale saved a Rashford shot at the near post as United stormed forward three against three. Sixty seconds later, Rashford aimed for the same corner and this time he found it, outwitting Archer on the edge of the box and firing the ball into the far corner. United were in control from then on and Garnacho secured an eerily routine win in the dying seconds.