It was the fourth of four consecutive matches at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, with United hoping to respond domestically to the defeat against Aston Villa the weekend prior.
A rainy Manchester was the setting as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted for multiple changes to the side which overcame Villarreal at the death in midweek. Victor Lindelof continued his partnership with Raphael Varane in Harry Maguire's absence, with Luke Shaw fit and well to return at left back and Aaron Wan-Bissaka back after European suspension. The Scott McTominay and Fred partnership was restored, as Paul Pogba dropped to the bench after partnering the aforementioned Scotsman in midweek. Anthony Martial earned a rare start, favoured to Jesse Lingard in place of Jadon Sancho. Mason Greenwood kept his spot to the right of Bruno Fernandes, whilst Edinson Cavani was rewarded for his stellar substitute showing in the Champions League. Consequently, Cristiano Ronaldo dropped to the bench to the dismay of many; given his substantial recent involvement and Cavani's impressive midweek showing, though, his omission can't be viewed as too much of an issue at all.
United had the brighter of the starts as has been common in recent weeks, with Everton taking time to develop any sort of foothold in the game. The home side were the neater in possession, displaying some clean passages of interplay. The reds were rewarded with the best early opportunity, with Wan-Bissaka's delivery pinpoint into Martial's path; the Frenchman found himself free of Ben Godfrey at the back post, but managed to put the resultant header wide. The game was really taken to Everton, with a much improved balance between the heavily used flanks as Wan-Bissaka displayed some real attacking quality. The Toffees' defence endured a staunch early test against some serious United pressure.
As time progressed, the visitors did grow into the game - as United left excessive amounts of space to exploit on the break. Salomon Rondon did just that, forcing a last ditch block from Varane following some lost aerial duels by the reds; thankfully, the Venezuelan was ruled offside. Regardless, the threat that Everton could offer was now evident.
Following another fast start, the United buildup slowed and the Toffees were allowed a grip on proceedings. However, the hosts did function another massive chance from the wide areas: Fred played a near-perfect delivery into Cavani, who's header was denied by Jordan Pickford after wriggling free from former red Michael Keane. Some subsequent United corners also came to nothing, with the likes of Yerry Mina able to display their presence from numerous set pieces at both ends.
Everton's most threatening moments came on the counter attack, proving effective on the growingly frequent occasions on which United lost the ball cheaply. Therefore, the game was really in the balance. Lapses in concentration amongst other factors let the reds down in the final third, costing them from taking the lead within the opening half hour.
The game grew quite heated around the half hour mark, with a scuffle unfolding in the centre circle after a strong challenge from McTominay on young Anthony Gordan. The Everton contingent were visibly upset by the force of the United man's tackle, but the dispute ultimately resulted in no punishments despite some evidently choice words being exchanged.
Everton continued to push the United back line as the half drew to a close, with Lindelof and Varane forced to deal with the opposing threat. The reds often looked quite structurally disjointed again, increasingly struggling to string efficient phases together. There were a number of misplaced passes and flawed decisions, with no moves materialising for the majority of the period. Creativity was almost non-existent.
David de Gea had a relatively quiet half thanks to his defence, but was forced into getting a strong hand to a Demarai Gray's effort as he found some space in the final third. The visitors were confident in taking on the United back line, forcing many blocks and tackles.
United managed to regain some control around the closing five minutes of the opening period, ultimately making Everton pay with an excellent flowing move. After a solid possessional spell, McTominay unleashed Greenwood to turn into space. The now 20 year-old fired a low cross-field ball to Fernandes, who cushioned the ball in style to spin and play Martial through. The resultant effort from the left was struck extremely well, evading Pickford and finding the back of the net with aid of a slight deflection. Solskjaer's decision to start Martial was all but justified, with the Frenchman scoring for the first time since the 9-0 win against Southampton all the way back in February. The goal will hopefully prove crucial for his admittedly slim confidence at the moment, with signs of improvement even before the pause as another effort was fired goalwards.
Following the break, United displayed some more sloppier passages as they struggled to build on their momentum from Martial's opener. The buildup was promising, but the ball was often lost as moves commenced. Pressure was exerted on Everton, but the pedestrian nature of a plethora of passive sideways passes halted any charge.
It didn't take long for Solskjaer to acknowledge the requirement of calling the cavalry from the bench, with Sancho and Ronaldo rather handy assets to be introduced around the hour mark. Goalscorer Martial was unfortunately withdrawn with an unspecified knock, whilst Cavani proved somewhat ineffective on his first start of the campaign.
Sancho was the brightest of the pair, eager from the moment he stepped foot on the turf. There was no fear within his direct approach as he attempted to take the game to Everton, with a willingness to make darting moves in behind the opposing defence. Soon after the pairs' introduction, the substitutes combined for a threatening move which ultimately saw McTominay squander a shooting opportunity.
United held the majority of possession once more, but Everton still matched the reds for chances as the reds failed to capitalise on this element of dominance. Solskjaer's side were eventually made to pay for such wastefulness. It all started from a United corner, with Fernandes' delivery easily cleared by the Toffees. The visitors then proceeded to break through Gray, with Fred failing to halt his progress more than once - secondly outmuscled following a weak initial challenge. Abdoulaye Doucoure was then fed by the summer signing, with both Lindelof and the covering Shaw severely on the back foot. The French midfielder evaded the defensive duo, locating the free Andros Townsend ahead of compatriot Varane on Everton's right hand side. The winger finished past the rooted De Gea, capping off a lethal counter attacking move with a mimic of Ronaldo's famous "sui" celebration.
With the concession, United have still only managed a single clean sheet this season. Once again, it wasn't defensive fragility but weakness elsewhere which saw the opposition rip the reds to shreds on the break.
Despite the concession, the likes of Sancho remained lively for United. However, the home side continued to cede possession far too easily. Paul Pogba was deemed a necessity by the manager, completing one of the most deadly trios of used substitutes that you'll see. Fred - following his part in the Everton goal - was hooked from the midfield. As is now a regular feature, the 'McFred' partnership proved far too limited and wholly failed to justify Solskjaer's apparent obsession.
Even though Pogba's presence was intended as a mechanism for regaining some vital control, the grip of the home side only seemed to reduce. Converse to Wednesday night, a response proved very difficult to come by. Few individuals ultimately showed any signs of potentially producing, with some positive glimpses but nothing sustained. Aside from flashing an effort across the face of Pickford's goal following another Sancho drive, Ronaldo's involvement was incredibly limited. In spite of United dominating the ball, the English goalkeeper had very little to do. Many attempts veered off target after the reds manoeuvred into promising areas, with a real struggle to find any quality end product again.
Whenever Everton pressurised the United back line, the defence coped sufficiently as Lindelof proved an able deputy to the absent Maguire alongside Varane. However, as for the equaliser, they became exposed again and thought they'd paid the price. In succession to a United corner which saw Pogba head wide having been unopposed, Everton won a corner for themselves. The initial delivery was dealt with, but Godfrey managed to pick the loose ball up on the edge of the box and subsequently evade Sancho's attempted challenge. Somehow, substitute Tom Davies was left wide open having been unnoticed by both Varane and Ronaldo; the Liverpool-born midfielder opted to square to the open Mina, who slotted in to the gaping net to give Everton the lead - so he thought. The Colombian was ruled offside by VAR to the relief of the Old Trafford crowd, many thanks to a fantastically-held line by Lindelof. Had Davies decided to shoot instead, it's almost certain that Everton would have had a late advantage.
The disallowed goal hardly even provided a wake up call for United, with urgency still lacking both on and off the ball in subsequence. Final decisions cost the reds in possession, with crucial late progressions wasted by more needless errors. The injury time period proved very disjointed, and no late opening could be found. The fulltime whistle was greeted by a disgruntled Ronaldo rather storming off the Old Trafford pitch in dismay, summing up the collective mood around the stadium. It was far from good enough, again.
Amidst another disappointing result, there was some encouragement provided by Sancho after his introduction from the bench. He created chances to a greater extent than any other player on the pitch, completing the joint most dribbles with Wan-Bissaka despite only being introduced in the second half. His lack of fear to take players on is a really promising sign, and something which could massively benefit United’s approach if it continues. If anyone was to make something happen late on in the match amidst a concoction of mistakes, it was him. With Rashford’s return imminent, we may be able to see him in his natural right-sided role very soon too - which is an exciting prospect.
On the whole though, it was another missed opportunity to move top of the table (at least briefly) at this early stage. It was a tough fixture on paper, but we should be capitalising on the sheer amount of possessional dominance.
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