Marcus Rashford suffered a groin injury as Man Utd produced one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. United had 21 shots on target in the first half but only reached the back of the net once, with Scott McTominay scoring his third goal of the season (36) to give the hosts a deserved half-time lead before replacement Anthony Martial secured the victory with his eighth career goal against Everton. (71). The triumph, which momentarily lifted United over Newcastle, was marred by an injury to in-form striker and top-scorer Rashford, who staggered off the pitch with nine minutes remaining due to a suspected groin injury. Everton’s first Premier League defeat in five games, in which striker Ellis Simms wasted a great first-half chance, keeps them outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
United ended a three-game winless streak against Brentford in midweek, and that momentum carried over to this game, with the hosts laying siege to the Everton goal. United could have been two up inside the first 12 minutes, but Jordan Pickford’s great shielding save denied Rashford the opener, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka stabbed wide of an open goal after Antony’s drive had cannoned back off the post. Everton matched their wastefulness, with striker Simms dragging a great chance wide after driving uncontested into the United area in 19 minutes.
United continued to pepper Everton’s goal without success. Pickford held off Marcel Sabitzer’s near-post shot and Antony’s badly executed attempt before great defensive cover from Ben Godfrey kept Antony from finishing after custodian David de Gea’s fast pass had given him through on goal. Everton’s resistance was ultimately broken on 36 minutes, when Jadon Sancho threaded McTominay in behind to slam the opening past Pickford at his near post. It could have been two before halftime, but Pickford’s stunning stop deflected Antony’s curling effort behind to keep Everton in the game.
Bruno Fernandes’ header and Wan-Bissaka’s attempt following a quick corner routine prompted more saves from Pickford in a more muted second half in which Everton increased in confidence without genuinely threatening the United goal. After Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford connected down the left flank, Martial came off the bench to seal the three points. United welcomed Christian Eriksen back from a lengthy injury layoff, but the spectacle of Rashford being dragged off injured took the shine off things just four minutes later.
Manchester United has won 39 Premier League games against Everton, which is the equal most in the competition’s history. (also 39 wins for the Red Devils against Spurs). Everton has only lost three games against Manchester United in a single season three times (1993-94, 2015-16, and 2022-23), with this being the 18th season the two sides have met three times or more. Manchester United have won 23 of their 28 home games this season (D3 L2), their most wins in a single season at Old Trafford since 2010-11. (26). Everton has only won one of their previous 17 away Premier League games (D7 L9), and they have not won on the road since a 2-1 success at Southampton in October.
“There is fear as long as you do not score the second goal. But we only gave up one goal in the game, giving us two chances in two games [including Brentford]. We produced a lot of changes in our third game in six days, which is a testament to the team’s performance,” Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag said. “We’ve demonstrated excellent mindset and character in two really impressive results, so we’re pleased. We take things one game at a time, we know what we’re capable of, and you can see we’re continuously getting better. Today, we played fantastic football and created numerous chances, and the midfield performed admirably with a lot of speed and direct play. All we needed to do was be more clinical and score more goals.”
“To be honest, we made far too many mistakes. They were the dominant force in the first half when we were getting beat by straight balls that we didn’t handle properly by our standards. What we could have done better was fairly simple,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said. “There was some great last-ditch defending, and Jordan [Pickford] made some great saves, but the reality was that the team didn’t do the basics properly in the first half. They did go up and should have been farther ahead, but we had the finest chance of the game with Ellis Simms, which may have transformed the game’s mood at that point.”
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