MX23RW : Friday, December 20 21:56:27| >> :120:4257:4257:

Ronald Koeman: 'Santa Claus came early for Robin van Persie'

Ronald Koeman laments individual errors after his Southampton team gifted Manchester United "two presents" in the 2-1 defeat at St Mary's.

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has rued his team's defending after gifting Robin van Persie "two presents" in tonight's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

The Dutchman bagged a brace at St Mary's as United leapfrogged the Saints into third in the Premier League table, with Koeman irked at the manner of both goals.

Van Persie capitalised on Jose Fonte's error to open the scoring on 12 minutes, before volleying home a 71st-minute winner after Fraser Forster opted against collecting a deep cross.

"Van Persie was the difference tonight because he got two presents but when he gets those kind of presents, he scores. We didn't," Koeman told Sky Sports News.

"He took advantage of our mistakes with his quality and that was the difference."

The result represents Southampton's third successive defeat, having gone down to Manchester City and Arsenal in the past eight days.

ID:192594: cacheID:192594:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2125:
Written by
Shane Callaghan
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
 Robin van Persie of Manchester United scores his second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester United at St Mary's Stadium on December 8, 2014
Read Next:
Van Persie brace downs Saints
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Broncos
27-34
Chargers
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!