Lukaku's Late Winner Seals the Deal for Manchester United

Manchester United can not afford to lose points at Old Trafford from here on out.

From the looks of it, dudes are not above doing it the hard way.

The Red Devils had the chance to boost their hopes for UEFA Champions League football next season as Arsenal dropped points against Tottenham, so a victory against Southampton would put them into into the Top Four.

 

Damn right it is.

Especially when the Saints have correctly determined it's not too early to go into desperation mode in order to avoid relegation. Dudes were only two points clear of doom going into this match.

 

United started strong, as they should have, given the matchup. Saints 'keeper Angus Gunn. Dude was forced to make good saves on both Romelu Lukaku and Andreas Pereira to keep the sheets clean.

However, against run of play in the 26th minute, Yan Valery scored a screamer.

Charlie Austin passed to Valery, who struck a thunderbolt past David de Gea and into the corner from distance:

 

After that, the visitors held United at bay for the balance of the half.

Whatever Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said or did during the break, it seemed to succeed in changing United's mentality. The Devils' swagger was back, and in the 52nd minute, they leveled things up when Pereira received a pass and curled home straight into the top corner for his first Premier League goal.

And what a goal from the Brazilian!

 

A mere seven minutes later, United took the lead.

Pereira was again involved, dishing to Lukaku, who was inside of the box. The Belgian international cut to the right and fired a low scud home from close-range:

 

Undeterred, Southampton had enough moxie left to equalize in the 75th minute.

James Ward-Prowse stepped up and double-barreled a stunning howitzer into de Gea's top corner:

 

That set up a fight to the finish in the final quarter-hour.

In situations like this, the odds usually favor United, and that's what happened here. In the 88th, Lukaku snatched the winner in a classy finish from outside the box:

 

There was still time for the Red Devils to add a penalty, but Gunn parried away Paul Pogba's attempt:

 

With that, the homeboys have indeed made the Premiership's Top Four:

With nine games left to play, the Premiership's gonna have a stretch run -- for the title and for the Champions League berths -- the likes of which hasn't been seen in a while.

The way it should be, frankly.