Brutal United always have the last laugh
Another late goal blitz buries Everton
THAT is the fourth time this season. The fourth time in five games Manchester United have used the last 10 minutes to accelerate away.
They scored twice in that period against West Ham, three times against Swansea, once against Leicester — and three yesterday against Everton.
It was a spree that took them level with Manchester City at the top of the table, and sent Everton into the relegation zone. If it was not a fair reflection of the match, it most certainly confirmed the likely make-up of the title race.
The Manchester clubs, three points clear after five games, look capable of pulling away. We may yet get that promised Pep Guardiola-Jose Mourinho duel — just a year later than advertised.
And already the contrasting styles intrigue. The Manchester clubs may be identical in terms of goal difference and goals scored, but they have achieved their 16-2 margins in quite different ways. At Watford on Saturday, City started like an express train. United prefer to grow into a game.
At first, yesterday, it appeared they could run up a similar score to City at Vicarage Road, but they do their damage late. Having exhausted opponents with their physicality they then bring on what Claudio Ranieri would have called the RAF — the flying machines. Manchester United up the tempo just when the opposition is leggy and vulnerable. Everton thought they still had a sniff of a 1-1 draw in the 82nd minute yesterday — 10 minutes later they were 4-0 down.
What is undoubted is that Mourinho’s United are a significant upgrade on that left to him by Louis van Gaal in terms of potential and attacking intent. They may not quite have the abandon and ambition of Guardiola’s City, but that shouldn’t be considered criticism.
Mourinho runs a tight ship, and doesn’t take as many chances, but this may enable United to utilise a long-term risk-averse strategy that is beyond their neighbours. They may be less vulnerable at crucial moments, too; we shall see.
What is plain is that it was too
much for Everton as a package. Before Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored United’s second in the 83rd minute, Everton manager Ronald Koeman was probably thinking his team had done enough to merit a draw.
Certainly they had responded well to going behind after four minutes. Having lost 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday, it was a horrible start, and at first Everton looked troubled. With more than 10 minutes gone, they had not touched the ball in the United half. One touch had come on the halfway line. It was the kick-off after Antonio Valencia’s opening goal.
And what a goal it was. Nemanja Matic played a crossfield ball, from left to right, finding Valencia outside the penalty area. With space ahead, he struck the ball first time, a mighty shot that flew past Jordan Pickford into the top corner of the net.
Yet, from there, Everton held firm. United had lots of possession, plenty of threat — but little in the way of clear chances.
When they did come close after 26 minutes, it was a loose ball by Michael Keane that teed it up. He made a hash of a simple, square pass that failed to reach Morgan Schneiderlin and was picked off instead by Juan Mata. He slipped it through to Romelu Lukaku who, with only Pickford to beat, hit his finish wide of the left post. The cheers from the visiting end were loud and mocking. Little beats seeing the player who rejected you and moved on up making an absolute fool of himself.
Lukaku was denied by a great Phil Jagielka tackle, and poor finishing from substitute Jesse Lingard saw two shots fly over the bar, but for much of the match Everton gave as good as they got. In the second half, David de Gea was arguably the busier goalkeeper, saving from Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Yet Everton have a problem. They lack pace around the final third. Rooney was a furiously hard worker and contributed as much as anyone to Everton’s spirited challenge. Sadly, he no longer has the pace that truly unnerves the best defenders, and neither do Everton. Koeman’s team lack firepower to deliver and it told. In all competitions, they have now gone six hours and 44 minutes without a goal. To be fair, at least Rooney (left) was spared the humiliation of the final three goals. Already forced to appear with Everton’s new sponsor, Angry Birds, emblazoned on his sleeve — surely he gets enough of them at home — to have gone down 4-0 on his return to Old Trafford would have been too much. As it was, Rooney was withdrawn to a very warm reception on 82 minutes, and in the 83rd the roof fell in.
The late collapse began with an error from Ashley Williams, pounced on by Lukaku and fed to Mkhitaryan following up on the left at speed. Lukaku’s pass picked him out, Mkhitaryan finished confidently and the game belonged to United.
So while what happened next gave the match a scoreline it did not deserve, it was one that is vital if United are to keep pace with City this season. Full credit to them for continuing to push, too, and to Lukaku for continuing to get among the goals. It was a long wait here — the 89th minute — but he eventually found a way, snatching at a loose ball bobbling around the area and then, to his credit, eschewing the niceties, right down to cupping an ear to the Evertonians who had jeered that first-half miss. No decorum here, just as it should be.
The fourth came from the penalty spot after Morgan Schneiderlin handled. Showing his former teammate no mercy, Anthony Martial took it with his new-found confidence and slotted past Pickford. Manchester City are top, technically, on alphabetical order. Manchester Athletic? That lot from Newton Heath missed a trick there, it seems.