In a much-anticipated Premier League encounter, which would have closed United & City’s gap to only one point & put United 4th on the table if they had won. Despite an early red card for Everton, which was given due to a fight between teammates Keane & Gana-Gueye, the latter slapped the English defender. This was enough for Oliver to give him the marching orders. Despite the red card, Dewsbarry Hall scored a great goal after a few minutes. Everton held onto the lead & secured all 3 points in this crucial away game.
Match Summary & Tactical Breakdown
A late Monday night kickoff saw them take on Everton; a win would have given United a much healthier position on the table, with only 1 point behind their noisy neighbours, City. United were missing some crucial players due to injury, Cunha & Sesko both were out & Joshua Zirkzee was given his first start of the season. Lisandro Martinez was seen on the bench after a long period of absence. Everton lined up similarly as they always do, and Coleman was back in the starting lineup.
Coleman was substituted within the first 10 minutes & Branthwaite replaced him, but the changing point came when teammates Keane & Gana-Gueye collided due to some arguments. Pickford intervened, but despite that, Gsna-Gueye was seen slapping Keane. This resulted in the sending off of the Senegal international. The game became wide open for United ever since that moment, but shortly after giving the possession away cheaply, Dewsberry-Hall scored a sublime goal to give the lead to the Toffees.
United had few chances to equalise & the likes of Amad, Bruno & Dorgu came close but couldn’t finish those chances.
2nd Half
Amorim saw the imbalance in the Everton midfield & brought on Mount for one of his defenders. They shifted to a back four with three midfielders & a classical 4-3-3 formation was adopted. Everton, on the other hand, went for a 5-3-1
with Barry as the lone striker. And it’s fair to say Amorim did cause some damage, but Moyes, an experienced campaigner in these situations, outplayed him. Grealish did a fabulous job & kept on winning fouls for his team. Amorim did some tweaks by bringing on Maino, but Pickford was abysmal in his role & stopped United from scoring.
Everton did not produce a single shot after their goal & had an XG of 0.00 but still got all three points at Old Trafford. This was Moyes’ first win in 18 attempts at Old Trafford as an opposition manager.
Standout Performer
Pickford- he was in sublime form & when Pickford has a good game, he makes sure the opposition team goes goalless.
| Stats | Man United | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 70% | 30% |
| Shots | 25 | 5 |
| Shots on Target | 6 | 1 |
| Corners | 9 | 1 |
| XG | 1.71 | 0.21 |
