At Old Trafford, Everton suffered the consequences of conceding two penalties in the first half as Manchester United regained momentum to secure a 2-0 victory on Saturday, thus keeping their Champions League aspirations alive.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford successfully converted from the spot, extending Everton’s winless streak in the Premier League to 11 matches. The win brings United within eight points of fourth-placed Aston Villa and three points of Tottenham in fifth.
Conversely, Everton’s defeat leaves them just five points above the relegation zone, with 18th-placed Luton having played two fewer games. Consecutive losses to Fulham and Manchester City had hindered Erik ten Hag’s team’s push for a top-four position.
However, with Aston Villa and Tottenham set to clash on Sunday, Manchester United capitalized on Everton’s errors to narrow the gap on their rivals in the race for a Champions League spot. In their previous encounter in November, Alejandro Garnacho netted a remarkable overhead kick, which was considered a strong contender for goal of the season.
Once again, the Argentine player proved pivotal in determining the outcome of the match, using his agility to draw two penalties. The first instance occurred when James Tarkowski from Everton committed a mistimed challenge just 10 minutes into the game, allowing Fernandes to calmly convert his eighth goal of the season.
Everton’s struggles with scoring goals throughout the season continued, as demonstrated in this match. Despite a promising opportunity created by Amadou Onana and Ben Godfrey within the first three minutes, the Toffees failed to capitalize. Dwight McNeil attempted to break the deadlock three times, with his closest effort narrowly missing the target.
Even when Everton managed to get a shot on target, Andre Onana made a spectacular flying save to thwart James Garner’s attempt. However, shortly afterward, Everton found themselves trailing by two goals following yet another mistake of their own making.
Garnacho skillfully navigated through a cluster of challenges on the edge of the box before being brought down by Godfrey. Mirroring his actions at Goodison Park earlier in the season, Fernandes once again entrusted penalty duties to Rashford. Pickford, Everton’s goalkeeper, couldn’t prevent Rashford, his England international teammate, from finding the net for his fifth goal in nine Premier League matches.
Despite Pickford’s efforts to keep the scoreline respectable by denying Fernandes a second goal from a well-struck free-kick and a low drive aimed at the bottom corner, Garnacho squandered several opportunities to score following his involvement in the two penalties.
Nonetheless, United were fortunate that Everton lacked sharpness in attack. This was evidenced by Everton’s failure to capitalize on numerous goal-scoring opportunities. Additionally, United’s defense faced significant pressure, conceding 16 or more shots on goal for the 16th time in 28 league games this season.
However, Everton couldn’t convert any of their 20 attempts on goal. In stoppage time, they came close to conceding a third penalty when Rashford was brought down by Jarrad Branthwaite, but Everton were saved by the offside flag.
