Manchester United put Everton to the sword in excruciating fashion as Sean Dyche and the toffees continue to stumble haplessly through the Premier League Campaign.
Everton were on the road in Manchester on Sunday to visit Old Trafford and Manchester United, a side that has seemingly had Everton’s number since the Second World War. Dyche started Beto up top for a change of pace in the striker role, with Ndiaye and Lindstrom on the wings and McNeil in the ten. Gueye and Doucoure partnered a midfield two that sat in front of a back four of Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski and Young.
The blues started the match relatively well with an intense high press that looked to trouble the hosts. Lindstrom and Beto both had chances early on, with the first being a long range and easily savable effort for Onana. The less said about Beto’s left-footed strike from inside the box the better. In the 21st minute Everton likely had their best chance of the match. McNeil played a good ball through the line and into the path of Beto. Bearing down on goal, the striker rounded the goalkeeper but could only put the ball into the side netting from a difficult angle.
Despite the decent start from Everton, it was inevitably United that scored the opening goal. In the 34th minute Bruno Fernandes floated a corner that found Marcus Rashford. He hit the ball with venom, and his half-volley cannoned off Branthwaite cruelly and in. Following the goal, it was all Manchester United, and the hosts quickly found a second goal. Branthwaite was easily dispossessed in his own half by Amad, sending a flurry of United players toward the Everton goal. Fernandes would eventually square it to Joshua Zirkzee who beat Pickford to make it 2-0 and essentially game over before halftime.
If the first half ended poorly, the second half started even worse for the visitors. Not even a full minute into the first Half, Zirkzee sent a ball forward Into Amad, who immediately found Rashford. The striker drilled one past Pickford only 20 seconds into the half to end any small chances the blues had of rescuing a result on the day. Manchester United sealed the deal in the 64th minute as Zirkzee got his brace, as Tarkowski was dispossessed cheaply by Amad. The Untied man burst past Ashley Young before squaring it to Zirkzee for a simple finish.
Mangala, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin and Patterson would all come on in the minutes after but it would do nothing to change the result. Everton well and truly battered, a fourth consecutive match without scoring a goal. Worryingly for the blues, Tarkowski and Branthwaite were poor on the day, and the midfield was to easily played through. It’s 2 wins in 13 for the toffees, and a winnable game against Wolves in midweek comes before an onslaught of fixtures in December that will test the mettle of the club.
UTFT!
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