Controversies arise Over two penalties and over view of Manchester United Vs Everton .
Manchester United sealed a 2-0 victory over a struggling Everton side at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Considering Everton’s status as a team still in danger of relegation, this home fixture was a must-win for Man United as they looked to shake off a recent dip in form and keep their top-four hopes alive.
The match got off to a slow start for United, conceding a corner within 90 seconds. Still, Jonny Evans comfortably headed the ball away.
An unexpected cross then came into the box, with Ben Godfrey getting a foot to it just metres away from the goalline. Fortunately for the home side, Andre Onana bravely dived in and clinched the ball to prevent United from conceding an embarrassing early goal.
United made a quick counter-attack with Everton collecting the ball from a throw-in and doing so as well. Abdoulaye Doucouré sent a dangerous cross into the box, with Onana coming to the rescue yet again by making a diving save.
An opportunistic pass from Bruno Fernandes found Marcus Rashford on the flank, who dribbled past Godfrey and took a shot only for Jordan Pickford to save it.
The subsequent corner found Casemiro, whose header was caught by Pickford. Clearly, both goalkeepers were on high alert.
10 minutes in, Alejandro Garnacho was tripped in the box by James Tarkowski, who put his leg out to make an ill-timed tackle. The referee awarded the penalty without hesitation.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up to take the spot kick, slamming it into the bottom right corner to hand United the perfect start to the match. While Pickford was close to getting a hand on it, the pace at which Fernandes hit his shot left the goalkeeper with no chance of making the save.
16 minutes in, a Raphael Varane cross found Garnacho on the edge of the box. He laid the ball off to Fernandes in the centre, who wastefully ballooned his shot over the top.
Everton’s Jack Harrison received the ball in the box, only to fire his shot wide and waste a decent opportunity to level the scoreline. United would do well to up their awareness so as to prevent any more easy opportunities for the underdogs.
In the 23rd minute, Harrison received another close chance when his header went askew. Erik ten Hag would be asking questions of his defence as to why the Everton attack keeps penetrating so easily.
Three minutes later, an Amadou Onana foul on Garnacho handed United a free kick outside the box. Fernandes took a fearsome free kick, guiding the ball over the wall only for Pickford to make a full-stretch save to deny the United captain his second goal of the afternoon.
Moments later, United were on the attack again as Rashford swung a precise cross to the opposite wing to be collected by Fernandes. He threaded a through ball to Scott McTominay, who drilled a grounded pass into the box when he saw Kobbie Mainoo run in. Unfortunately for Mainoo, he was heavily marked, rendering him unable to take a close-range shot.
33 minutes in, Garnacho was on the receiving end of a vicious slide tackle from Godfrey, resulting in yet another United penalty. This time it was Rashford’s turn to take a penalty.
The winger hesitated before striking the ball into the left corner, sending Pickford diving the wrong way. This was just Rashford’s second goal at Old Trafford this season.
Two minutes from the break, Rashford sprinted up field and passed to Fernandes, whose shot was deflected before Pickford collected the ball. United should be looking for more goals in order to build on their lead, especially given their tendency throughout the season to capitulate after grabbing the lead.
On the stroke of half-time, Garnacho fired a pass into the box that hit Vitaliy Mykolenko’s hand. Ultimately, the penalty was not given, with the defender’s arm adjudged to be in a natural position as he slid across the grass.
The board went up with four minutes of stoppage time. Dwight McNeil hammered in a close-range shot, with Onana making a sublime leg save to deny the Everton playmaker. Seconds later, the half-time whistle blew, with United going into the break with a comfortable lead.
Straight off the restart, United appeared sharp, with Garnacho being narrowly ruled offside as he encroached Everton’s penalty area. While Everton responded quickly with a Godfrey cross, nobody was in the box to receive it.
Eight minutes into the second half, Fernandes threaded a through ball to Garnacho on the right wing, with the Argentine narrowly hitting his shot over the crossbar from close range in what was a prime scoring opportunity.
Four minutes later, it was Onana versus Onana, as the Everton midfielder fired a shot from close range into the near post only for the United shot-stopper to make a goal-line block. With the away side seemingly controlling the flow of play, United would need to kick things up a gear.
Just then, Fernandes raced into the box and passed the ball across the face of goal to Garnacho, who struggled to reach it. While he made contact, the ball proved to be too far ahead for the Argentine to get a shot on goal, with the ball rolling out for a goal kick.
62 minutes in, it was a game of ping pong in Everton’s box as the ball bounced between players from either team. Ultimately, it fell to Fernandes, who fired a low shot goalwards that Pickford got his fingertips to.
Fernandes’ subsequent corner fell to Lindelof, who struggled to get his foot to the loose ball. While he managed to make contact, his delay allowed the Everton keeper to position himself in order to make a crucial last-ditch save.
Suddenly, it felt that United were on the verge of finding a third goal if they remained persistent on the attack.
Lindelof conceded a clumsy free kick on the edge of United’s box as he clashed with Amadou Onana while challenging for an aerial ball. Ultimately, Andre Gomes’s free-kick hit the head of Casemiro in the wall.
McTominay was booked in the 68th minute for a clumsy challenge on Onana, bringing him down as he sought to win back the ball in Everton’s third. Still, United remained ineffective at delivering the final product.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin came to close to scoring when he was inches away from making contact with a Godfrey pass just metres away from the goal. With Onana out of position, it would have been an embarrassing goal to concede had luck swung in Calvert-Lewin’s direction.
Moments later, Amadou Onana attempted an audacious bicycle kick from the edge of the box that his namesake comfortably caught.
With 13 minutes left on the clock, Sofyan Amrabat replaced Kobbie Mainoo.
In the 81st minute, Calvert-Lewin fired a header goalwards from a corner, with a well-positioned Onana catching the effort. Then, Garnacho was substituted for Antony.
While United embarked on a sporadic attack, Pickford sent the ball upfield, handing Everton a rapid counter of their own. McNeil’s shot on the edge of the box was blocked by Lindelof, maintaining United’s clean sheet.
Five minutes from time, the away side earned another free kick on the edge of the box, with Onana confidently catching the incoming cross.
United earned a free kick of their own when McTominay, quickly approaching Everton’s final third, was knocked to the ground by Tarkowski.
In the 88th minute, veteran defender Jonny Evans came off to wild applause from the Old Trafford crowd as he was replaced by teenager Willy Kambwala.
With 90 minutes on the clock, Everton won a corner as Dalot thumped the ball out of play. Gomes thumped the ball into the box where Onana did well to block his cross, extinguishing the threat.
Four added minutes were announced, giving plenty of time to either side to find a goal before the final whistle blows.
United appeared to be the more eager side, with Fernandes thumping a shot goalwards that was deflected for a corner. Rather than attack, United decided to play some short passes to waste time.
On the verge of the full-time whistle, it appeared as if Rashford earned United’s third penalty of the afternoon when he was brought down in the box. Ultimately, he was ruled offside.
This proved to be a comfortable win for United against a struggling Everton side. Still, United would be concerned that they required two penalties to get over the line, thereby doing little to restore confidence in their fanbase.