The Frenchman played the full 90 minutes in a tense and testing encounter, helping Louis van Gaal's men record back-to-back wins in the Barclays Premier League to go second in the table.
Schneiderlin scored 14 goals in 230 appearances during a seven-year spell with the Saints before his summer move to Old Trafford, and going back to his old haunt evoked plenty of memories.
“It was strange to go to the away dressing room but I needed to stay focused on my game,” the 25-year-old told Sky Sports after the game. “Of course, I’ve got good friends at Southampton and I know everyone from the top to the bottom of this club, so it was strange for me.
“It’s a great club but I’m happy with the victory because I am a Manchester United player. But I’m sure they [Southampton] will have a great season; they have great players and a great manager.”
After Anthony Martial’s double and Juan Mata’s strike, United seemed to be in control before Graziano Pelle headed home his second late on to give Saints late hope. Schneiderlin says that is a stark reminder that United must see games out, having built up a commanding 3-1 lead after initially falling behind.
“We know that the Premier League is never finished and in every game we need to be careful until the end,” he said. “For their goal we could have done better with the cross and mark the men better but we were in control.
“We shouldn’t have let the cross into the box because we know that Pelle is a great header of the ball. It’s up to us to rectify those mistakes. It happened against Swansea and PSV Eindhoven and, although we didn’t drop any points, we need to learn our lesson very quickly.”
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