Romelu Lukaku secured Manchester United a hard-fought victory at Southampton as Jose Mourinho's men managed to batten down the hatches after half-time.
Seven months on from edging an entertaining EFL Cup final against Saints, United arrived at St Mary's looking to maintain their fine start to the campaign against a team struggling for coherence and goals on home turf.
United were made to sweat as Mauricio Pellegrino's men launched wave after wave of attacks in the second period, but Lukaku's first-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win, taking his side to a club record-equalling 16 points at this stage of a Premier League season.
However, while it may have been a successful trip on the field, things did not go so well off it. Mourinho was sent off in stoppage time by referee Craig Pawson for his antics on the touchline, while in the first half some supporters went against United and Lukaku's plea to stop chanting a song about the striker that Kick It Out have called "offensive and discriminatory".
Here, we rate the players from both sides...
Man United
De Gea 7
Barelu tested but reliable when called upon
Valencia 7
Defended more than he might have liked, but solid
Jones 8
Excellent in the air and commanding when required
Bailly 8
Continues to enjoy a fine season at centre back
Young 7
Involved in the goal and is really finding his feet
Matic 8
Made up for the absence of Paul Pogba with yet another good display
Fellaini 7
Not everyone's cup of tea, but he does for Mourinho
Mata 6 (Herrera 61, 7)
Only played an hour, not his finest performance
Mkhitaryan 7 (Smalling 74)
His struggles last season are a distant memory now
Rashford 7 (Blind 90+2)
Bright start but couldn't maintain it
Lukaku 7
Took his goal well and shows no sign of slowing in front of goal
Subs not used: Romero, Carrick, Lingard, Martial Referee: Craig Pawson 7
Southampton
Forster 7
Cedric 7 (Ward-Prowse 82)
Yoshida 7
Hoedt 7
Bertrand 7
Romeu 7
Davis 6 (Gabbiadini 72)
Lemina 7
Tadic 6
Redmond 6
Long 6 (Austin 82 )
Subs not used: McCarthy, Van Dijk, Pied, Hojbjerg