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Manchester United 2-0 Everton: Match report, player ratings, fan reaction, expert analysis and more

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Manchester United continued their excellent season with a comfortable victory over Sean Dyche’s Everton despite some poor finishing on the part of the Red Devils.

Erik Ten Hag’s side began the game on the front foot and could have headed into half time several goals up if it weren’t for a mixture of awful finishing and great goalkeeping on the part of England no.1 Jordan Pickford.

After Antony, Marcus Rashford and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were guilty of missing glorious opportunities, Scott McTominay popped up with an excellent finish to hand his side the lead.

Everton, who rarely threatened in the first half, were better in the second 45, and looked like they may be on course to get something out of the tie, only for a mistake from Seamus Coleman to take his eye off the ball and allow Marcus Rashford to steal in.

The in-form Englishman squared the ball to Anthony Martial, who dutifully tapped home to hand them a comfortable final few minutes in the Manchester sunshine.

The victory was soured somewhat, however, by a late injury to Rashford, who seemed to injure his groin and was sent straight down the tunnel by the medical staff.

Player ratings

Manchester United

  • GK: David de Gea (6)- Didn’t have a great deal to do but was comfortable.
  • RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (6) – Looked much more assured on the ball but inexplicably put the ball wide from five yards out in the first half.
  • CB: Harry Maguire (8) – Eyebrows were raised when he was named in the starting XI, but the United captain had an excellent outing, including showing off a brilliant passing range.
  • CB: Lisandro Martinez (7) – Nearly played his side into trouble on a couple of occasions but was otherwise excellent.
  • LB: Tyrell Malacia (6) – Replaced the injured Luke Shaw and was solid, though he doesn’t offer the Englishman’s quality in the final third.
  • CM: Marcel Sabitzer (7) – Helped United dominate the midfield battle.
  • CM: Bruno Fernandes (8) – Played a deeper role for United and dictated the play in the first half. Continued to impress in the second.
  • RM: Antony (7) – Always a threat running in behind in the first half, but was wasteful in front of goal.
  • CAM: Scott McTominay (7) – Took his goal excellently and battled well in midfield for Ten Hag’s side.
  • LM: Jadon Sancho (7) – One of his best showings of the season from the Englishman, who held onto the ball well and showed some nice footwork.
  • ST: Marcus Rashford (6) – Should have scored with three excellent opportunities and suffered a worrying looking injury 10 minutes from time.

Substitutes

  • Anthony Martial (6) – Tapped in for the United second but did very little else to suggest he should have been starting.
  • Christian Eriksen (7) – Got an excellent reception returning from injury, and controlled the latter stages of the game excellently.
  • Fred (6) – Tidy and solid when he came on.
  • Wout Weghorst (5) – On for the final 10 minutes.

Everton

  • GK: Jordan Pickford (8) – The scoreline would have been far worse if it weren’t for the Everton stopper, who made save after save to keep them in the tie.
  • RB: Seamus Coleman (5) – Was the best of the Everton defence until he made a costly slip to hand United a second goal, which killed the game.
  • CB: James Tarkowski (4) – Woefully exposed by the high line in the first half, was better in a deeper role in the second.
  • CB: Michael Keane (4) – Like Tarkowski, struggled in the opening 45 minutes, but improved in the second.
  • LB: Ben Godfrey (3) – Had a torrid first half against Antony trying to hold a high line, but got back once to make a good challenge. Hooked at half-time.
  • RM: Alex Iwobi (6) – Everton’s most exciting player going forwards and showed some sleek footwork to go with his work ethic, but couldn’t really make an impact.
  • CM: Amadou Onana (5) – Couldn’t get close to Bruno Fernandes in the first half and seemed to pick up an injury in the second. Not an ideal outing for the Belgian.
  • CM: Idrissa Gueye (5) – Worked hard defensively but offered very little going forwards
  • LM: Dwight McNeil (5) – Very quiet but worked hard.
  • ST: Ellis Simms (4) – Couldn’t really offer much by way of hold up play and missed a glorious chance in the first half.
  • ST: Demarai Gray (4) – Hardly had a sniff across the game.

Substitutes

  • Vitaly Mykolenko (6) – Kept the Everton left side much quieter than Godfrey had managed in the first half.
  • James Garner (5) – Added fresh legs but no real quality.
  • Tom Davies (5) – Added fresh legs but no real quality.
  • Neal Maupay (5) – Offered nothing new up front.
  • Nathan Patterson (N/A) – On for the final five minutes

Expert Analysis

Fan Reaction

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Ben Browning

Football writer and analyst. Long-time writer of all things Arsenal and avid watcher of European football. Happy to discuss all things football over on Twitter.

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