A more convincing performance from Southampton was not enough in their Premier League match-up against José Mourinho's flourishing Manchester United as the visitors went away with all three points, despite encouraging signs from the Saints.
The Red Devils were in complete control of the first-half and it showed when prolific attacker Romelu Lukaku netted prior to the break, however, Mauricio Pellegrino was determined to make more of the game.
His squad were arguably the more dominant following the interval and had a number of clear opportunities to find the back of the net, although, the incapability to grab at least a draw makes it a measly tally of eight points from six top-flight outings.
In looking back at the game, manager Pellegrino had a lot to say on his team and his thoughts on the score line at the final whistle.
''We have to score goals''
Prior to kick-off at the weekend against title contenders Manchester United, Southampton had found a tendency in struggling to score goals, and that is precisely why the Saints find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Albeit, only in eleventh, however, the club's opening five division matches were all against, from a fans' perspective, weaker opposition apart from the fixture with Mourinho's side.
Pellegrino has opted with the lone striker formation since his appointment in the summer and decided to continue with Shane Long leading the line in search of chances in front of net.
“The football is efficiency and you have to score goals'' the Southampton boss said in relation to disappointing results in recent weeks.
The south coast outfit have only scored on four occasions this campaign, with three of them being in the win over West Ham United last month - only Swansea City and Crystal Palace have a worse record this term in the goals department.
“I think we did 90 per cent''
Moving onto his team's performance against Manchester United, Pellegrino was left satisfied with the effort and display from his players despite the ineffective result.
Southampton enjoyed 61% of overall possession from the ninety minutes of action, mainly due to their commanding football in the second-half, as well as register 14 shots.
''We were working really well and against these type of teams you have to play really well, really close to excellent to win games.”
The Saints can look forward to the next month of Premier League action as they aim to accumulate maximum points from their next four opponents; Stoke City, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion.