Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side produced a solid display to beat Everton 2-1 in the game at Goodison Park.
The hosts struck first with Alex Iwobi’s sublime goal early in the game. A pair of well taken goals from Antony and Cristiano Ronaldo means United take all three points back to Manchester. Overall, it was a decent performance from United. However, they weren’t clinical enough to kill the game off so they had to work extra hard to see out the game.
First half
Less than 6 minutes into the game, United were already behind. Casemiro was caught in possession by Amadou Onana. The Brazilian’s mistake directly led to Alex Iwobi’s stunning opener.
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United found an equalizer 15 minute into the game. This time it’s Everton’s Idrisa Gueye who was caught in possession by Bruno Fernandes. United’s captain for the day found Marcus Rashford, who then played in a sweet assist for Antony’s calm finish.
United saw more of the ball after the goal, controlling 95% of the possession at some point. A decent ball in by Bruno managed to sneak into Everton’s box but Martial and Antony couldn’t seem to decide who should take the shot, resulting in a rather easy save for Pickford.
Before the match, Martial was seen holding his hip during the warmups. He lasted for about 30 minutes in the game before being subbed off for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese was immediately involved in an attack that saw Bruno put the ball into Pickford’s net, however it was ruled out for offside.
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A brilliant ball in by Rashford found Casemiro totally unguarded in Everton’s box, only for the midfielder to head it wide. Right on the stroke of half-time, the Brazilian made up for his mistake with a peach of a through pass which found Ronaldo. In a calm and composed manner, the main man notched the 700th goal of his illustrious career.
United went into the break leading two goals to one, having total control of the game and an agenda to score more in the second half.
Second half
United started the second half exactly how they ended the first, dominant and having more possession. In one passage of play, Onana caught Antony with a studs-up tackle which surely warranted a sending off. However, he was only given a yellow.
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Near the hour mark, Casemiro’s cross found Ronaldo inside Everton’s box but the striker skewed his header wide. It would’ve probably been better for Ronaldo to leave the ball for his compatriot Bruno who was making a similar run albeit in a better position.
A direct long ball from de Gea found its way to Rashford who took advantage of Tarkowski’s error and slotted it past Pickford. However, the goal was ruled out for handball after further check.
Former United player James Garner shot an absolute belter only for de Gea to stop it with an exquisite save during the closing minutes of the game. The referee gave the home side a series of corner kicks to give them any hope of salvaging the game. But in the end, they just didn’t have too much quality and United came out as deserved winners.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Everton, Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo