Manchester United drew 1-1 with Everton in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Anthony Martial opened the scoring in the 43rd minute of the match, scoring his first goal for the club this season, assisted by Bruno Fernandes. United should have perhaps scored more than one goal in the first half, seeking more in the second half. Andros Townsend equalised for the Toffees, after Fred lost the ball with Abdoulaye Doucoure equalising before Yerry Mina scored again five minutes from time, which was ruled offside. United needed to win this match and will go into the international break frustrated.
United started the match brightly, on the attack seeking an early goal from the game. Anthony Martial had a good chance on goal with a header, but from a few yards away from the goal, he was off target and showed his frustration. United had a few more credible attacking attempts but still did not have an early goal in the bag. Everton had some good attacking play, but were cut down quickly. In the 21st minute of the match, Edinson Cavani had a good effort on goal, but he was not able to open the scoring for United. This Everton side were holding back the onslaught so far, but would they be able to keep doing that throughout the match?
United seemed to carve out many chances going forward in this match, but were not getting anywhere. Everton had a few chances, but seemed to be out of luck in getting a goal against United. Mason Greenwood was booked for a foul in the 34th minute of the match, which seemed a bit harsh. United were still seeking to get the opener with some good attacking and more importantly, patient play. In the 43rd United took the lead in the match with Anthony Martial getting his first goal of the season, assisted by Bruno Fernandes after a good period of attacking play. United deserved that and Everton now needed to worry about which way it will go.
United continued to pressure Everton towards the end of the half, after taking the lead. It was a positive performance for the Red Devils and they had played better than they have recently, which is something to be proud of. Granted, the chances had been poor at times in this match and Everton were given too much space and respect. United ended the half with 67.7% possession, five shots on goal, of which four were on target but needed to learn from the half, which will be no easy run in the second half. Solskjaer need to get his substitutions right again, ensuring that United continue to dominate in the right areas, scoring more goals.
There were no changes at the start of the second half for either team. United seemed to continue where they left off, attacking Everton. Jadon Sancho started warming up soon after kick off in the second half as Martial, the scorer of the goal, seemed to be carrying a knock. Cristiano Ronaldo was also readying himself to come on. The substitution was made in the 57th minute of the match with Sancho replacing Martial and Ronaldo replacing Edinson Cavani. United had a great chance around the hour mark with Ronaldo and Sancho both involved but Scott McTominay, who received the ball last, could not get a shot on goal.
United’s lead did not last. United made an error at the edge of the Everton box with the Toffees receiving the ball and running up the pitch. Demarai Gray won the ball, passed to Abdoulaye Doucoure who then played the ball into Andros Townsend, who beat David De Gea for the first time in this match. It was a shocking goal to concede, from a poor loss of the ball. United will need to start again and find a way to win this match. Everton, though, seemed to be the resurgent side. Solskjaer made his third substitution with Paul Pogba replacing Fred in the 70th minute of the match. It seemed that United will be going for all out attack, which is now needed.
Everton got the ball into the back of the net once again in the 85th minute with Yerry Mina scoring the goal. He celebrated. The Everton fans celebrated and if was ruled as offside, apparently being close to call, despite him being a good bit of distance offside. The goal was not given. United seemed to be resurgent in seeking a response but Everton seemed to be doing all they could to defend their point, which shows the level they have become as a club under Rafael Benitez. United were unable to get a winner in this game, settling for a point, which is a shame as this Everton side did not really deserve anything.
United will now have a break, at least the players coming back from injury and the ones not picked for their countries during the international break will. They will be back in Premier League action in a fortnight’s time on Saturday 16 October when they travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester. Four days later, they will be back in UEFA Champions League action against Atalanta at Old Trafford before welcoming Liverpool to the Theatre of Dreams four days after that – ending October away to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. This is going to be a big month for United and Solskjaer. A month that will need to result in some good wins.
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Goals: Anthony Martial 43′; Andros Townsend 65′
Assists: Bruno Fernandes 43′; Abdoulaye Doucoure 65′
Manchester United: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Fred (Pogba 70′); Greenwood, Fernandes, Martial (Sancho 57′); Cavani (Ronaldo 57′)
Substitutes Not Used: Henderson; Bailly, Telles; Lingard, Matic, Van de Beek
Bookings: Mason Greenwood 34′; Abdoulaye Doucoure 76′
Written by John Walker
