Manchester United moved ahead of Everton in the league table after a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho’s side held off from Everton’s late surge after Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty gave the Toffees a chance to pull level, but earlier goals from Paul Pogba, who spared his blushes after scoring from the rebound of his missed penalty, and Anthony Martial, with a sumptuous strike to take his tally to four goals in three Premier League games, were enough for the Red Devils to collect all three point and rise to 8th in the table.
Manchester United without Lukaku
Jose Mourinho chose not to start Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian international had failed to score in his last eight games in all competitions for Manchester United. One of United’s problems in recent fixtures has been their inability to convert their chances, and poor performances from Lukaku led to him being demoted to the bench.
This change seemed to work for Mourinho’s side, with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford providing the side with pace and creativity and for the 60 minutes that both players were on the field. They caused Everton’s defence significant problems, and Martial made a serious mark on the game, gaining a contentious penalty that gave his side the lead followed by doubling United’s lead with a superb finish at the start of the second half.
United looked solid in their first half and their attack suppressed Everton’s play. Was the decision to remove Lukaku from the squad a tactical decision to put the £75m striker under pressure and hopefully improve his performances? Or is it a permanent decision?
Has Martial justified his starting place in the team?
Martial’s performance was integral to United’s success going forward against Everton. Their offensive play mainly went down the left wing and the Frenchman’s pace caused a strong Everton defence problems throughout.
Throughout his career for the Reds his physicality has been questioned, yet today he showed that he has the potential to silence those critiques. His goal and winning the penalty showed that he is a player that can be vital to his side’s success. With their main striker, Lukaku, not starting today, the winger stepped up his game and made his starting place in the squad unquestionable, ahead of the likes of Alexis Sanchez, who has been kept out of the team in recent weeks.
Jordan Pickford’s importance to the side
Jordan Pickford once again proved how important he is, not only to Everton but to the England national side as well. He made a second penalty save in two weeks and also made quality saves which kept Everton in with a chance of gaining a result.
One save in the 94th minute denied Martial of his second goal and he was once again Everton’s best player. His performances show that when they come up against quality sides, he is a player that is vital to Marco Silva’s side gaining results. If they were to go a significant amount of games without the England number one, then Everton would be without a crucial part of their defence.
Marco Silva’s starting XI
The Portuguese manager chose to play Richarlison as Everton’s lone striker for the third time in as many fixtures, though to little or no effect. Everton’s best chances came towards the latter end the game when Silva introduced Cenk Tosun and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to the game.
Each time the Brazilian striker has featured as the Toffees sole striker he has struggled to incorporate his dribbling skills and pace into his playing style. The next fixture may be a case of reverting to playing a more traditional lone striker up front, but the Brazilian is a much more effective player when he is able to attack fullbacks, rather than battling two significantly larger, stronger centre-halves.
Can United finish in the top 4 this season?
The Red Devil’s moved to a total of 17 points, three behind sixth-place Bournemouth and five behind fourth-place Arsenal.
United’s win against a strong Everton side keeps them within touching distance of the Champions League spots, and with Mourinho’s side set to play Bournemouth and then Manchester City before the international break, they must take points from these fixtures if they don’t want to fall too far behind the pack.
However, their performance against Everton showed that they are capable of seeing off tough opponents. Their defensive structure looked strong and Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelöf look to be developing a solid partnership. However, they will be tested to a greater degree against Man City in two weeks time.
Man of the Match – Anthony Martial
The Frenchman looked established in his wide role scored a brilliant goal as well as earning his side a penalty that gave United the win. He seems to be coming of age under Mourinho, and the winger could be a crucial part of United’s pursuits of domestic and European success in 2018/19.
