What a game that was between Everton and Manchester United.
In the final meeting between the pair at Goodison Park, the two teams served up a classic encounter.
The Toffees manhandled The Red Devils in the first half and were deservedly 2-0 up thanks to goals from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
But the game completely turned around in the second half, Man Utd rescued a point in a captivating game thanks to a true captains performance from Bruno Fernandes.
Despite a major scare when the referee awarded Everton a penalty in stoppage time, subsequently turned around after a VAR check, both sides will likely be disappointed in only coming away with a point.
Here are five things we learnt from a helter-skelter game:
1) Hojlund’s confidence on the floor
To carry the burden of being Man Utd’s first-choice striker must be difficult but it’s eye-opening that as soon as the Dane came off, Man Utd turned the game around.
James Tarkwoski and Jarrad Branthwaite bullied the forward, but the issue was more to do with how little he contributed as a striker, making the attack weaker.
There were times you were left wanting more from Hojlund, be it making the ball stick up front, more movement or more fight.
There is still a good player there, but it’s worrying that the only striker Man Utd have is lacking so much confidence.
Victor Osimhen has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer and Hojlund’s performance highlighted just how much United are missing a star striker right now.
2) Everton out-fought Man Utd in the 1st half
Whether it was the confidence from the resurgence since David Moyes’ arrival or the new optimism that has made the atmosphere at Goodison Park a difficult place to come to, every tackle, every duel was contested hard as Moyes’ team were first to every ball and first to every header as Man Utd were overwhelmed.
From Doucoure to Idrissa Gueye to Jack Harrison, the Everton players simply wanted it more than their United counterparts.
It was only when Ruben Amorim made some substitutions, namely replacing Casemiro and Hojlund with Alejandro Garnacho and Chido Obi, that United looked more of a match for their opponents.
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3) Bruno Fernandes deeper changed the game
Despite having a sloppy performance for most of the game, Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick changed the game.
Once the Portuguese was moved into a central midfield pivot role, Man Utd could’ve won the game in the 2nd half.
From a technical stand point, Fernandes is much more calmer in this role and with the absence of Kobbie Mainoo, may be the best option to play there pinging passes from deep.
The problem for Ruben Amorim is losing the attacker and his threat further up the pitch.
But for today, it didn’t look like an issue as the United captain almost single handedly brought his team back into the game.
4) Dorgu a stand out performer again
Patrick Dorgu has took like a duck to water at Manchester United.
In a weak 1st half from United, Dorgu ran at Everton’s defence bravely which is exactly what you want from Amorim’s full-backs in this system. Any openings that occurred were mainly from his overlapping runs.
Full-backs are absolutely crucial to creating space in Ruben Amorim’s system, it’s heartening that Man Utd have at least one full-back that can finally test defences.
When Alejandro Garnacho was subbed on in the second half, Man Utd finally had players who were running in behind Everton’s defence, as opposed to relying on hoping Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund would magically conjure something up.
The hope is that a Garnacho-Dorgu pairing starts to gain more understanding.
5) Vital point in the context of the season
Man Utd are nowhere near where they should be.
We’re scraping the barrel when it comes to positives, but these players look devoid of confidence and fearful of making a mistake on the pitch.
It could’ve been very different with the VAR decision at the end of the game but after the first half, United importantly got something out of the game.
Points have been hard to come by under Ruben Amorim, but the second half showed there is still fight left in this team.
With United having a more favourable game on Wednesday when they host Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, Amorim and the United fans will be hoping that the team can built on the second half performance.
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