Manchester United went head to head with Everton at Old Trafford looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat to Juventus. The Red Devils began the match brightly and scored the opening goal of the game through Paul Pogba after the Frenchman initially missed his spot-kick but scored from the rebound.
It took the Mancunian outfit until the 49th minute to score their second goal of the contest when Anthony Martial curled in a beautiful effort from outside the box. However, the Merseyside club refused to give up without a fight and found a way back into the game courtesy of Gylfi Sigurdsson’s successful penalty in the 76th minute.
Despite a few nervy moments for the home crowd towards the end, United managed to hold firm and see out a 2-1 victory on the day. Let’s take a look at how each Manchester United player fared during the encounter against the Toffees.
GK: David De Gea – 6/10
The Spanish keeper was unable to stop Sigurdsson’s penalty but kept it stable at the back for the Red Devils.
RB: Ashley Young – 6.5/10
The English talent looked tidy while defending his goal and made some fantastic tackles in the first half. However, he lacked the cutting edge going forward in the opposition half.
CB: Chris Smalling – 6/10
The United centre-back was having a good game until he gave away a cheap penalty which invited the Toffees to come back into the contest.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 7/10
It was a commanding performance from the Swedish defender. He looked composed on the ball and defended valiantly to keep the Everton attackers quiet at Old Trafford.
LB: Luke Shaw – 5/10
Not the best game from the Red Devils left-back. Shaw found it challenging to deal with the pace of Theo Walcott in the first half. He was also caught out in possession quite a few times during the game.
CM: Fred – 7/10
The Brazilian sensation was full of energy in midfield and was a driving force behind many United attacks. It was one of his best performances under Mourinho.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 6.5/10
The Serbian defensive midfielder started a bit slow but gradually grew into the game and bossed the midfield in the second half.
CM: Paul Pogba – 6.5/10
The Frenchman had his moments in the game and looked bright in the opposition half. He missed a penalty and scored from the rebound. However, Pogba was also sloppy at times, and he needs to be more consistent with his performances in the coming weeks.
RM: Juan Mata – 7/10
The Spaniard started the game in grand fashion when he was pulling strings from midfield in the first half. However, his effect faded as the game went on.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 5/10
The English forward scored an offside goal which was probably his best moment for the home team. He had a poor game inside the Everton box and looked like a striker out of form.
LM: Anthony Martial – 7.5/10
The French winger scored with a magnificent finish from outside the box. However, he also failed to kill the game off when he squandered an easy chance after Jordan Pickford saved his tame shot.
Substitutes:
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 5/10
The Belgian never looked like scoring after coming off the bench.
CM: Ander Herrera – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
CM: Jesse Lingard – N/A
He came on to run the clock down for the home side.
