Posted in Premier League, Everton, Machester United

Red Devils started match in inauspicious fashion

 October 9, 2022

The Red Devils were humbled 6-3 by Manchester City last Sunday and started this match at Goodison Park in inauspicious fashion,

Alex Iwobi scoring after just five minutes after Casemiro lost the ball.

United levelled through Antony,

who struck his third goal in three Premier League appearances after being played in by Anthony Martial. The France striker went off shortly afterwards with an injury,

The Portugal great made a telling impact,

sweeping a low finish beneath Jordan Pickford following Casemiro’s pass for his 700th career club goal.

Watch the incredible goals in Manchester United vs Everton!

Marcus Rashford had a third goal disallowed in the second half but United withstood an aerial onslaught from Everton to claim the three points.

There was a case for saying that those two late goals at The Etihad Stadium hadn’t really done Manchester United many favours.

Losing 6-3 rather than 6-1 may have spared some blushes,

goals : Everton – Manchester United Played on 10/09/ 2022

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but there were potential downsides,

too. The margin of defeat went from one which better represented the obvious chasm between the two teams,

while offering a potential sliver of opportunity for complacency following a poor performance to sneak in. And while United ended up coming away from their Europa League trip to Nicosia with an important win, 

After their strong comeback from a dismal start to the season, the last week had felt like a bit of a backward step.

But it doesn’t really feel like that any more,

not at the end of an evening in which United had to fight to come back from an early lapse,

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and then hold onto a lead over a frantic last five minutes of aerial bombardment from an Everton team that wasn’t giving up their own six-game unbeaten run without a fight.

And wins like this, when you’ve had to reach deep into your reserves of grit and determination, are worth a fortune. They can bond a team in ways that money simply cannot buy.

Received wisdom would have it that it helps to be able to give a full debut to one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet. Nobody has any doubts about the abilities of Casemiro,

and his absence from Manchester United’s first team had come to feel increasingly perplexing with each passing game. Now here he finally was in the starting line-up,

the delayed start to him stepping fully into spotlight explained away before the match by Erik ten Hag as giving him the opportunity to fully settle into the club.

Ten Hag may have been wishing that he’d extended that acclimatisation

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spell by another week after just five minutes. With the ball at his feet and his back to goal,

Casemiro had the ball nicked from him by Amadeu Onana,

leaving the Brazilian on his backside and United’s defence in sudden and quite unexpected trouble. The ball found its way to Alex Iwobi,

who bent the ball into the corner to give Everton the lead. Goodison Park is always a febrile place under the floodlights, and of course it exploded. For all the pouring rain, it was a baptism of fire for Casemiro.

Everton have been defensive skinflints this season,

but one good turn deserved another nine minutes later when Idrissa Gueye

lost the ball in midfield. From there, and with the Everton midfield and defence wholly unprepared for this sudden loss of momentum, it was two passes to find Antony,

who continued his goal-a-game streak with a diagonal shot across Jordan Pickford.

And with the bit between their teeth,

Manchester United got back a little of the swagger that left the building so suddenly at Eastlands. Suddenly,

they were on top. Everton’s defence has been the steel rod that has kept the team clear from the sort of panicking which blighted so much of their last season,

but United’s attackers could see their whites of their eyes

and for a few minutes it felt as though that particular dam being breached would be inevitable.

A touch of misfortune nearly checked that forward momentum. Anthony Martial was understood to be hurt before kick-off,

with his place in the starting eleven said to be in doubt,

and he only lasted 28 minutes before being replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo.

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