Manchester United 1-1 Everton: 5 Things We Learned

Manchester United’s win streak was halted as Everton held them to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

The Old Trafford outfit actually did not witness a Toffees player score as it was Victor Lindelof’s own-goal in the first-half that caught United off guard. That was the way things remained for quite a while until 18-year-old substitute Mason Greenwood broke the deadlock and equalized.

However, nothing further materialized from all that action.

1. Milestone Game for United

Regardless of the outcome, Manchester United did manage to maintain a remarkable record during the fixture. It was the 4000^th consecutive game that the Red Devils included a homegrown player in their matchday squad.

This particular encounter had seven inclusions altogether, with Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, and Scott McTominay starting as youth academy graduates of the illustrious side.

This is a remarkable tradition from the side and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems eager to continue in this manner.

 

2. The Duncan Ferguson Impact

Duncan Ferguson has been having a dream week since being appointed as Everton’s manager. After defeating Chelsea 3-1 in his inaugural game in charge, the gaffer showed great skill in maintaining the draw during this fixture at Old Trafford.

Ferguson showed great passion and that translated well into his players who tried their best to amend their earlier flaws. This was obvious in the manner in which they defended the previous regime’s trend of responding poorly to set-pieces. At Old Trafford, all of United’s 6 corners were dealt with effectively. Similarly, the backline was solid and kept adapting throughout the game.

However, the absurd choice of subbing off teenager Moise Kean after bringing him on may have been a poor one for a player who is yet to find his confidence.

 

3. Mason Greenwood

In the matter of great weeks, Mason Greenwood is another player who is having an absolutely fantastic one.

Against AZ in the mid-week Europa League fixture, the 18-year-old netted an impressive brace. On Sunday, Solskjaer trusted him by subbing him on with just one intent and that was where he flourished.

Making the best of a Daniel James pass, Greenwood showed great vision in burying the ball deep into one side, away from Pickford’s reach. That furthers his season’s tally and will give the Norwegian gaffer further reason to use him more often.

 

4. Martial and Lingard Were Poor

Much of United’s flaws in this game could be attributed to the rather cameo roles put in by Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.
Lingard could have actually made the headlines in the opening seconds itself when he nearly scored from the first shot. However, since that picturesque moment, the Englishman was relatively toothless and that contributed to them failing to find further goals.

Similarly, Anthony Martial never appeared to fully put his heart into the fixture as United looked to challenge the Everton backline till the last minute.

The Frenchman has been shy of goals so far this season but games like these makes one question his starting spot.

They need to improve if this squad is to try to attain their goals in this campaign.

 

5. Table Dynamics

This draw has left the Premier League table in an interesting state. Tottenham Hotspur managed to win all three points against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a late goal.

As of such, Jose Mourinho’s side are now a point above United in the table and within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea.

As for Everton, the sole point at Old Trafford now means that they are still in the 16^th position bit now three points above the relegation zone. Such momentum is precisely what Ferguson needs to engineer them out of the danger zone.