wicked.football

Manchester United escaped with a 1-1 draw with Everton, as Andros Townsend replied brilliantly to Anthony Martial’s first goal in eight months.

The first half saw the midfield battle dominate, but Martial’s sweetly-struck shot opened the scoring for Man Utd just before half time.

Demarai Gray struggled to find his end product in the first half, but he bullied Fred off the ball to set up Townsend’s equaliser.

The visitors could then have won it, but Yerry Mina’s goal was offside. Either side could have gone top of the Premier League table with victory.

For United, though, it is now nine games in a row at Old Trafford without a clean sheet – their worst run since February 1971.

Man Utd

David de Gea: Not involved at all until the 33rd minute, when he stretched to save Gray’s shot. Beaten for pace by the equaliser, but showed calmness in possession and under pressure. 7/10.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Back in for Diogo Dalot after the win over Villarreal and enjoyed an all-action first 10 minutes up and down the pitch. Made several key first-half blocks, but could not get to Townsend’s scoring shot. 8.

Raphael Varane: Got his defensive contributions right, blocking a shot and clearing away on occasion. Good pace to defend and pass under pressure. 7.

Victor Lindelof: Played some nice passes and blocked a Salomon Rondon shot in the first half. Did well to put Gray off balance in two chances either side of the 1-1 goal. 7.

Luke Shaw: Back in for Alex Telles after illness and injury and was, as usual, lively up and down the pitch in the opening 45. Had a shot blocked after a one-two with Paul Pogba after the break. 6.

Scott McTominay: Not involved a great deal in the first half, but headed away a corner and had some nice touches. Struggled to really make an impact in the second half. 6.

Fred: A few nice passes culminated in a lovely ball to set up Edinson Cavani‘s headed chance. His poor pass then allowed Everton in, though. Out-strengthened by Gray in the build-up to Everton’s equaliser. 5.

Mason Greenwood: Nice passing combinations and a dangerous cross in the first half, ending with a fizzed pass which set up Martial’s goal. Starred in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but struggled after Everton’s equaliser. 6.

Bruno Fernandes: Some nice passes, especially from left to right, before getting the assist for Martial’s opener. Not directly involved in goals after the break, but some nice touches set United going. 7.

Anthony Martial: Should have opened the scoring after six minutes, but mistimed his header. Made up for it with the power and accuracy of his strike for 1-0. 7.

Edinson Cavani: Good movement allowed him to have a header saved after 21 minutes. Didn’t really feature after the break until his withdrawal. 7.

Substitutes:

Jadon Sancho (on for Martial, 57): Good pace and determination to drive at and beat defenders. Linked up well with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba. 6.

Cristiano Ronaldo (on for Cavani, 57): Fired a shot straight across the goal and wide, but could not find a last-minute winner like he did against Villarreal. 5.

Paul Pogba (on for Fred, 70): Made chances to get United get forward and on the offensive after the equaliser. Set up Shaw for a chance, curled a shot wide of the right post and headed a corner over. 6.

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Everton

Jordan Pickford: Like De Gea, he did not have that much to do in the first half, but saved Cavani’s header and a Greenwood shot. A deflection hampered his chances of saving the opening goal. Saved another Greenwood effort in the second half. 6.

Ben Godfrey: Did well initially to take care of Martial, including when the Frenchman tried to cut inside. Strong in the second half to shield the ball out for a goal-kick on occasions. 6.

Yerry Mina: Quiet in the first half, but defended when required. Did his best to block Martial’s scoring shot and could have timed his run better for the disallowed goal. 6.

Michael Keane: Had a solid first half an hour, but got done by Cavani’s movement at times. Impressed in the second half, dealing well with Greenwood, Sancho and Ronaldo. 7.

Lucas Digne: Enjoyed his tussle when Wan-Bissaka attacked and had mixed fortunes in the first half – and the second half. 6.

Andros Townsend: Played a nice free-kick after 16 minutes, but was perhaps not alert enough to get to Greenwood’s pass before Martial’s goal. Fantastic pace to get forward and a brilliant finish to make it 1-1. 8.

Abdoulaye Doucoure: All-action for Everton in the first half. Set up an attack with an interception and then supplied the cross, before having a shot blocked. Drove forward and got the assist for Townsend’s goal with a great through-ball. 8.

Allan: Made some important tackles to help Everton in midfield and continued to cover a lot of ground in the second half. 6.

Anthony Gordon: Had a quiet start, but a nice cross was then followed by a run which saw Greenwood pick up a yellow card for a foul. Good determination to get involved in Everton’s attacking and defending after the break. 7.

Demarai Gray: Showed he could get behind the Man Utd defence, but lacked the final product in the first half. That changed in the second half, the forward outmuscling Fred and setting the Everton equaliser up. 8.

Salomon Rondon: Had two blocked first-half shots, but should have done much better with the first effort. Barely involved in the second half. 4.

Substitutes:

Tom Davies (on for Gordon, 72): Could – and perhaps should – have had a shot instead of finding Mina for the eventual offside goal. 5.

Lewis Dobbin (on for Gray, 90+2): N/A.

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