Man United were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at Old Trafford, with Andros Townsend scoring a second-half equaliser for the visitors.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 by Everton at Old Trafford, with Andros Townsend cancelling out Anthony Martial’s first-half strike.
United had a great chance to open the account, but Edinson Cavani’s header was denied by Jordan Pickford.
However, the Red Devils had their breakthrough after Anthony Martial found the back of the nets right before half-time, with Bruno Fernandes providing the assist.
Everton, who have been causing much trouble with their counter-attack strategies, had their equaliser in the 65th minute through Andros Townsend.
The momentum flew in the Toffees’ way after the equaliser and they nearly put a dagger through United’s heart when their second goal of the evening was ruled out by VAR.
Unlike the previous games, United failed to make any dramatic comeback as they have now dropped points for the second consecutive game in the Premier League this season.
Martial gets his first goal of the season.
Anthony Martial has been subject to criticism following his struggling start to the new season. Even his exit rumours started to circulate in the wake of his lacklustre displays. However, he proved his critics wrong by putting on a solid performance against the Toffees today. The French striker scored his first goal of the season and his confidence also appeared to grow up from there. In a game where Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon didn’t start, Martial showed that he got plenty to offer this season.
Everton punishes off United’s lacklustre defence.
Plenty of less-competent sides have used their counter-attacking strategies to better effect against the Red Devils and Everton weren’t an exception either today. Although Rafa Benitez’s side only enjoyed 28% of the possession, they created more problems for the Red Devils on the break. Townsend’s equaliser was also the result of such a counterattack where the Red Devils’ lacklustre defence got punished by the Toffees.
United starting to lose momentum
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found himself under scrutiny after United’s back to back setbacks against West Ham and Aston Villa. However, the thrilling win over Villarreal in the Champions League earlier this week gave the Norwegian manager a chance to break the shackles. But they failed to build on that victory as they were held to a draw against the Toffees today. The draw also shows that Solskjaer has plenty of work to do and the marquee signings of the summer transfer window can’t alone win things.
