Manchester United booked a comfortable victory in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. The team of manager Erik ten Hag was 2-0 too strong for Everton at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and substitute Anthony Martial. A blemish on the victory was the retirement of Marcus Rashford, who left the field in the final phase with a hamstring injury. With the victory, United (temporarily) takes over third place from Newcastle United, which will play against Brentford later in the day.
Wout Weghorst started from the bench for the second league game in a row. Last Wednesday, against Brentford (1-0 win), the Dutchman had to settle for a reserve role for the first time since his rental period at United. Tyrell Malacia replaced the injured Luke Shaw at left back, while Christian Eriksen made his return to the match squad. The Danish midfielder has been out of action since the end of January due to an ankle injury.
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The spectators at Old Trafford were presented with an open first half. Marcus Rashford failed to open the scoring early in the game after he shot face-to-face with Jordan Pickford at the Everton goalkeeper. Antony hit the post after fifteen minutes, after which the rebound was not spent for Aaron Wan-Bissaka either. The right back shot incomprehensibly wide from about five meters. United had the better of the game, but suddenly saw Ellis Simms shoot wide from a promising position.
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It was a miracle that the glasses position was still on the scoreboard within half an hour. Both Rashford and Antony popped up behind the defense of the Toffees, however, Pickford managed to keep the attackers from scoring again. The deserved lead for United came ten minutes before the break. McTominay was found after a good running action Jadon Sancho and then shot in controlled: 1-0.
United slowed down in the second half, so the chances didn’t pile up. With Martial in the team for Antony, Ten Hag hoped to bring new impetus to his team. The Frenchman became the celebrated man twenty minutes before the end after Séamus Coleman went under a ball. Rashford gave wide to Martial, who was able to tap in easily: 2-0. United’s victory was never in danger after that. Although the failure of Rashford (hamstring injury) was a downer for Ten Hag.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 29 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 43 | 72 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 64 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 29 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 56 |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 28 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 26 | 53 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 50 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 27 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 46 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | -1 | 44 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 43 |
| 9 | Brentford | 29 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 43 |
| 10 | Fulham | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 39 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 29 | 10 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 39 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | -15 | 30 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | -11 | 29 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton W. | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | -19 | 28 |
| 15 | West Ham United | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | -13 | 27 |
| 16 | Everton | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -20 | 27 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -28 | 27 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 29 | 7 | 6 | 16 | -30 | 27 |
| 19 | Leicester City | 29 | 7 | 4 | 18 | -11 | 25 |
| 20 | Southampton | 29 | 6 | 5 | 18 | -24 | 23 |