MX23RW : Thursday, December 12 23:21:10| >> :120:6902:6902:

On this day: Massimo Taibi mistake sees Manchester United draw with Southampton

On this day 16 years ago, Massimo Taibi made one of the biggest goalkeeping howlers in Premier League history in Manchester United's 3-3 draw with Southampton.

After helping Manchester United achieve the treble during the 1998-99 campaign, long-serving goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel made the decision to depart Old Trafford, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson with the unenviable job of attempting to find a replacement for the legendary Dane. That resulted in Ferguson swooping for both Mark Bosnich, who had been at Aston Villa, and Massimo Taibi, who had spent the previous campaign at Venezia, to create competition in the shot-stopping ranks at the club.

Neither acquisition was greeted with wholehearted approval from the club's supporters and their lack of optimism was justified on this day 16 years ago. Ahead of their clash with Southampton, while United had not conceded a goal in the Champions League against both Dinamo Zagreb and Sturm Graz, they had gone five successive games without keeping a clean sheet in the Premier League in what had otherwise been an unbeaten start to the campaign.

Taibi had only been in between the posts for two of those games, but it took just five minutes for Southampton to ensure that he would be without a shutout on his third appearance. After receiving the ball 30 yards from goal, Marian Pahars was allowed to turn before nut-megging Jaap Stam, creating space for himself to advance towards goal and wrong-foot Taibi from inside the penalty area.

Massimo Taibi of Manchester United before the FA Carling Premiership match against Southampton played at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. The game ended in a 3-3 draw.© Getty Images

It was a goal that rocked Old Trafford. Not only had Southampton suffered defeat in four of their seven Premier League fixtures since the start of the season, they had also lost on their previous 10 visits to the Theatre of Dreams. It took United time to find their feet, but on 34 minutes the equaliser came from Teddy Sheringham, who got ahead of his marker at the near post to convert David Beckham's cross into the bottom corner.

Three minutes later, normal service was resumed as United completed the comeback. Southampton goalkeeper Paul Jones had twice pulled off terrific saves to deny Sheringham, but at the third time of asking, the England international whipped a pin-point pass towards the edge of the six-yard box, where Dwight Yorke was on hand to head the ball into the far corner.

United supporters may have had sympathy for Jones, who had made two interventions in front of the East Stand that would have only brought back memories of Schmeichel. However, Old Trafford were unable to reminisce for long as shortly after half time, Taibi made the clanger that would haunt him for the rest of his short-lived spell in the North-West.

After former United favourite Mark Hughes had progressed towards the penalty area, he turned to lay off the ball to Matt Le Tissier, who decided to try his luck from 30 yards. His scuffed attempt should have been easy work for the goalkeeper, but after diving forward to collect the shot, the ball squirmed through Taibi's arms and legs and trickled over the line, much to the shock and disgust of the fans behind the goal.

David Beckham of Manchester United and Matt Le Tissier of Southampton during the FA Carling Premiership match played at OLd Trafford in Manchester, England. The game ended in a 3-3 draw.© Getty Images

The home side soon made amends, with Yorke driving the ball into the top corner from 12 yards to restore United's advantage, but Taibi would be picking the ball out of his net for the third time with 15 minutes remaining. This time, the mistake came from Mikael Silvestre, who was dispossessed by Pahars, who crossed for Le Tissier to provide the calm finish into the corner with Taibi well beaten.

United would push for a winner that didn't materialise, and Taibi would go a small way to redeeming himself by sticking out a leg to deny James Beattie in the final minute. However, as far as his career at the Premier League champions was concerned, the writing was on the wall.

Despite his glaring error, Taibi would retain his place for the following game away at Chelsea, but the occasion proved to be another day to forget for the Italian. United had gone 29 games without a league defeat - a run stretching back to the previous year - but a mistake from Taibi after just 27 seconds allowed Gus Poyet to score the opening goal and put the Blues on their way to a resounding 5-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United: Taibi, Irwin, Stam, Berg, Silvestre, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Solskjaer, Yorke, Sheringham
Subs: Bosnich, Wilson, Cruyff, Neville, Fortune

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Lundekvam, Richards, Benali, Ripley, Soltvedt, Oakley, Kachloul, Pahars, Hughes
Subs: Moss, Beattie, Marsden, Colleter, Le Tissier

ID:246672: cacheID:246672:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8386:
Written by
Darren Plant
Restore Data
Share this article now:
United boss Alex Ferguson on the sidelines during a game with Man City on April 30, 2012
Read Next:
Ferguson's top five transfer blunders
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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!