Three weeks ago, millions of Manchester United supporters entered the month of November under the impression that their beloved team had turned a corner. After a frustrating start to the campaign, United had suddenly
won five of their last seven matches. With the Red Devils winning three in a row vs. Sunderland, Liverpool, and Brighton, the end seemed to be near for both United’s malaise and for Frank Ilett’s iconic afro. Instead, after a perfect October, United slipped up against a relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, with Amad Diallo’s late equalizer securing a point for the visitors.
United looked set to rebound with a win after Bryan Mbuemo opened the scoring within 32 minutes at Tottenham Hotspur, only for Mathys Tel to level proceedings in the 84th minute and for Richarlison to complete the comeback shortly after, but Matthijs de Ligt would equalize in the final second to snatch a point for United. These back-to-back stalemates seemed to be nothing more than fleeting missteps, results that frustrated the fans, but who nevertheless understood that they merely slipped up on a banana peel vs. two teams that, unlike them, are playing in Europe. However, there was no excuse whatsoever for what we witnessed on Monday night in Manchester.
Everton were seeking their second away win of the season after their 3-2 win at Wolves on August 30, whilst David Moyes was seeking his first-ever win as a visiting manager at Old Trafford. It was Everton who had the first real sight of danger, with Idrissa Gana Gueye receiving at the edge of his own box and deftly turning to avoid Bruno Fernandes, racing to midfield and playing a one-two with Thierno Barry before unleashing Iliman Ndiaye, who dialled up a tempting cross that was deflected out of peril by Leny Yoro. Similarly to other midfielders like Nigel de Jong and Carlos Alberto Pintinho, Gueye’s all-action displays in the center of the pitch have often been marred by a lack of discipline, with the Senegalese going from hero to zero after lashing out at teammate Michael Keane and seeing red after striking his face. And just like that, Gueye became the first Premier League player to be sent off for fighting his teammate in 17 years.
But despite playing down a man for 79 minutes, Everton never once let their guard down. In fact, the early expulsion proved to be a blessing in disguise for the visitors, who took the lead within a half-hour as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wriggled past Yoro and Fernandes before curving a rocket of a shot into the top-right corner. This was a shot in the arm for United, who started to turn up the heat and put Jordan Pickford under pressure, but ultimately, they never came close to piercing the goal due to errant finishing, lackadaisical first touches, underwhelming execution in the final third, mistimed passes, or just a general lack of clarity. It wasn’t for a lack of trying; United have 4 big chances to Everton’s 0, 25 shots to Everton’s 3, and 1.66 xG to Everton’s 0.23. But ultimately, United never managed to make the most of their extra man, with the Toffees happy to park the bus and let them have the lion’s share of possession.
United looked set to pull level in the 70th minute after Mason Mount tracked down a long ball from De Ligt and fired in a cutback for Fernandes, who snatched at the chance and scuffed it over the bar with the outside of his boot. Amorim subbed on Mount for Noussair Mazraoui at halftime and Kobbie Mainoo and Diogo Dalot for Casemiro and Patrick Dorgu at the hour-mark, in addition to moving Luke Shaw to the left wing-back position and dropping Dalot to the back three. Shaw would carve out a golden opportunity by whipping in a cross to Joshua Zirkzee, who latched onto the ball and forced Pickford to stretch out and get a hand on it. Whenever United did come close to finding the back of the net, Pickford made himself big and reminded why he is England’s #1 and why countless journalists like Sid Lowe and David Ornstein have declared him to be one of the game’s top goalkeepers. He came up clutch once again after tipping Zirkzee’s header above the post to force a corner kick, where United were regularly wasteful.
All things considered, it is a wasted opportunity for Manchester United, who, rather than moving up to fourth place, will enter the weekend in 10th place. They’ll be looking to end their three-match winless streak by winning at Crystal Palace, who have claimed four wins and a draw in their last five. But as for Everton, they find themselves in 11th place, level on 18 points with Liverpool and Manchester United, and they’ll be looking to close out November with a victory against Newcastle.
