Manchester United ground out an important 1-0 win at Southampton but, scratch under the surface, and there are players trending both upwards and downwards.

With European and domestic fixtures thick and fast which players are worth keeping a particular eye on? Read on below…

TWO GOOD

Phil Jones

Social media never misses a beat when it comes to poking fun at Phil Jones and the comedy tumble which led to a Stoke goal a fortnight ago did the usual rounds.

It remained to be seen whether Jones, after such a good start to the season, could dust himself down and get back up – never a guarantee given his constant injury troubles.

Along with Eric Bailly, who was also wobbly in their last away day at the Potters, Jones was part of a successful last stand at St Mary’s with the Saints throwing everything they could at United in the second half.

At times this season United won’t look as good as their neighbours, the City slickers – but when the going gets tough they have clearly got the defence to sew up a hard-fought win.

Man United defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling

Ashley Young

At one point over the summer, the next time United fans thought they’d see Ashley Young was at an airport in China surrounded by a throng of excitable locals.

Instead he has eschewed interest from the Far East to take one last stab at resuscitating his Old Trafford career. On Saturday’s evidence it is well and truly alive.

Fresh from an impressive display against Basel from right-back, Young switched to the left for last weekend’s hammering of Everton and carried on in the same vein on the south coast.

Opposing full-backs know he is going to switch to his right foot, but he always seems to create enough space to whip a cross in – Romelu Lukaku connected to one of them in scoring the game’s only goal.

With Luke Shaw’s status still up in the air, Young has fresh air to really stamp his authority on the position much like another converted winger in Antonio Valencia has down the right.

Ashley Young operating at left-back against Southampton

TWO BAD

Marcus Rashford

This is less of a criticism of Marcus Rashford as it is the decision to start him at St Mary’s. Still 19, Rashford has already played more than 400 minutes of football for United this season – double that of Anthony Martial.

Rashford was subbed at half-time after a scintillating performance against Burton in midweek, but would it not have made sense to give the equally in-form Martial a go from the off on Saturday?

Yes, Martial played the entire 90 in the EFL Cup, but with fewer minutes in his legs it may have been best to use Rashford as the impact sub. The England international started brightly, but visibly tired.

With a trip to far-flung Moscow in store this week, it will be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho handles his playing time going forward.

Marcus Rashford and Southampton’s Cedric Soares compete for the ball

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

‘Bad’ is perhaps going too far in describing Mkhitaryan’s performance, but relative to what Manchester City have been doing recently, you wonder if his shortcomings may be the difference between the clubs.

The Armenian, in general, has been very good this season – registering five assists and a goal in the Premier League – but his play pales into comparison to the magic David Silva is weaving in a Sky Blue shirt.

Both players are arguably their team’s chief creator yet Silva is more assured in possession, taking 0.5 poor touches a game compared to Mkhitaryan’s glaring 1.7, according to whoscored.com

Mkhitaryan is the better player on the counter, but when a lesser side digs in with two banks of four and you’re looking for a flash of inspiration – it is probably wise to bet on Silva.

That’s not to say things can’t change but there are always a few times a game when Mkhitaryan makes an exasperating decision rather than the simpler, more effective one, and the same went at Southampton.

If United and City are destined to be the runaway leaders in the EPL this season, small margins will make all the difference and Mkhitaryan certainly has room to improve.

Man United’s Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan