Early in this match, Ruben Amorim gestured wildly at Alejandro Garnacho, telling him to come off the left wing and come back inside.
Garnacho had been pushed to the sidelines, as he so often did under Erik ten Hag. But the requirements are different now.
If the Argentine wants to be part of this team moving forward – and that remains in doubt given Napoli's interest this month – he has been told he must adapt to survive.
“He has talent,” Amorim said this week about the 20-year-old. 'He has to learn to play in a different position. He needs to play better indoors.
“He improves a lot in the recovery position when he doesn't have the ball. But when he does, sometimes he's not in the right spot to make transitions like he has in the past.
“He finds the best way to play in this system. He's improving in training and I think he's changed the way he sees himself.”
So here Garnacho tried it. Trying to adapt. He constantly looks to his manager for guidance and then reassurance. I try to stay central and be the number 10 that Amorim craves.
And how his eyes, and those of his manager, lit up when he found himself unmarked in the penalty area midway through the first half when Rasmus Hojlund cut the ball back to him.
Only Garnacho grabbed it and drilled it wide. His manager turned away in disbelief, hands glued to his head. “What the hell was that?” the Southampton supporters jeered.
It was perhaps this kind of mistake that former United midfielder Paul Scholes had in mind before the match when he said: 'United can probably be better than Garnacho.
'Although he is young, he is sometimes sloppy in his technique and his decision-making is sometimes very poor.'
Garnacho continued to demand the ball and in the second half he put it on a plate for Antony to convert from two yards out, but the Brazilian missed.
United sources remained tight-lipped on Thursday evening about Napoli's interest in Garnacho, amid rumors of a renewed attempt to land him this month.
The Italians are on the verge of selling their star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain and manager Antonio Conte wants Garnacho to become the next jewel in Naples' crown.
In the age of profit and sustainability rules, and with a moody-looking Sir Jim Ratcliffe looking on, Garnacho represents a player with both real value and 'pure profit' as an academy product.
If Napoli or another team meet United's asking price, his time at Amorim would be short-lived.
But Amorim has urged Garnacho to take up the challenge to change his game and the youngster took on Southampton, even if old habits die hard.
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