Teenager Greenwood rescues Man United in Everton draw
United’s academy product Greenwood comes off the bench to score his second goal in the League
MANCHESTER: Mason Greenwood came off the bench to rescue Manchester United as the teenage striker’s late equaliser secured a 1-1 draw against Everton on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side fell behind to Victor Lindelof’s controversial first half own-goal after United’s appeals for a foul on David de Gea were ignored by VAR.
But Greenwood, introduced in the second half, underlined his vast potential with a clinical strike 13 minutes from full-time.
The 18-year-old is the third youngest player to score a Premier League goal at Old Trafford after former United forwards Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck. Bradford-born Greenwood, a product of United’s youth academy, now has seven goals in his breakthrough season after netting twice in his previous appearance against Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday.
This was his second Premier League goal after his strike against Sheffield in November and his rapid progress is a bright spot in a difficult season for Solskjaer’s sixth placed team.
It was fitting that Greenwood scored in the 4,000th senior match in succession in which at least one youth graduate was represented in United’s first-team or matchday squad, an extraordinary record stretching back over nine decades.
After their impressive wins over Tottenham and Manchester City in their last two league games, United’s frustrating draw reaffirmed how much improvement is still needed under Solskjaer despite Greenwood’s ascent.
For Duncan Ferguson, Everton’s caretaker manager, this spirited performance built on the momentum from last weekend’s win over Chelsea.
Hit by injuries and illness, Everton avoided losing for the seventh time in their last eight away league matches.
Another of United’s homegrown products should have opened the scoring within 20 seconds when Fred’s burst into the Everton area ended with Jesse Lingard swivelling onto the loose ball and shooting wide from 10 yards.
Daniel James’ blistering pace was on full display when the winger raced clear for a low drive that flashed wide of the far post, prompting an angry exchange between Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and team-mate Lucas Digne about who was to blame for the break.
United boss Solskjaer was not happy with the performance of his team, although he praised academy product Greenwood.
“We’re disappointed we didn’t get three points and we didn’t have the ideas to win it towards the end,” he said. “You shouldn’t concede goals like this at set plays. But it’s a foul. Mason Greenwood is different class in and around the box. You’re not surprised when he scores goals. We’ve always had the DNA, with added players from other top clubs, and that will always be the philosophy here.”
SPURS IN FIFTH
WOLVERHAMPTON: Jan Vertonghen’s stoppage time header continued Tottenham’s turnaround under Jose Mourinho as Spurs moved up to fifth with a 2-1 win at Wolves. Mourinho’s men were largely outplayed at Molineux, but were ruthless with their chances to inflict Wolves’ first league defeat in 12 games.
Adama Traore’s spectacular strike had cancelled out Lucas Moura’s early opener before Vertonghen stooped to guide home Christan Eriksen’s corner.
“Three incredible points. We coped with their spirit. At 1-1, Wolves are not a team satisfied with a point. But we knew if we arrive in the last part of the match we could score,” Mourinho said. “Wolves are a fantastic team. This is a big victory. It is very difficult to control against them. Traore and Jota can kill you out of nothing, but we controlled parts of the game.”
Spurs can now move into the top four before Christmas if they beat Chelsea at home next weekend and Mourinho has his sights of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. “We went about a year without winning a Premier League game away and we’ve managed two in a short amount of time,” Mourinho added.
“Now we are not looking to the bottom of table, we’re looking higher up. This game is a special game because the opponent is a special opponent.”
That speaks volumes for the impact Mourinho has made in less than a month in charge.
Wolves drop to eighth as their longest unbeaten run in the top flight since 1962 came to an end.