Rickie Lambert has boosted his claim for a place in Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad as his strike has handed Southampton a 1-0 lead over Manchester United at the break in the Premier League clash.

© Getty Images

The Saints dominated the game from the off and could have had a penalty early on when Nemanja Vidic handed in the area, but referee Mike Dean waved play on.

Luke Shaw had a good chance to hand his side the lead when he played a one-two with Adam Lallana and the midfielder knocked a cross into the box for the 18-year-old, but his header went over the bar.

Southampton did take the lead in the 28th minute when Steven Davis released Lambert one-on-one with David de Gea and the England international made no mistake slotting the ball past the Spaniard.