1 December 2024
Man Utd 4 Everton 0
Ruben Amorim took charge of his first Premier League game at Old Trafford as they welcomed Everton. The visitors were not in good form and struggling to score goals. The Red Devils need to turn their season around and there is no time for a bedding in period for the new man. He knows the importance of turning your home ground into a fortress from his time at Sporting Lisbon.
Man Utd fans will need to be more reserved in their judgement. There have been so many occasions where a handful of results sends them into the dream that they are officially back. One swallow does not make a summer, they have find that out the hard way. They have appointed six full-time managers at the club chasing past successes since the Ferguson era.
They started on the front foot as Mainoo looked to shoot from the edge of the box. It was too close to Pickford and the England stopper made light work of the effort. It was a positive sign for the fans that Amorim planned to base his tactics on attacking football. All too often of late it has been the visitors turning on the style on the pitch.
Doucoure then went on a lung-bursting run through the midfield. He was getting through the Man Utd tackles all too easily and the only mistake he made as he headed towards goal was passing it to Beto. The striker cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a shot that was more of a danger to fans than the goal. If that appears on a ‘spot the ball’ competition, no one is guessing there.
Zirkzee was looking lively in the final third. He found a pocket of space and slid a delightful pass into the path of Amad in the box. The young winger opted to shoot first time but got it all wrong as he scuffed his shot harmlessly wide of the goal. We have come to expect far more from the emerging talent and he should have at least worked Pickford from that position.
The hosts almost got themselves into trouble as McNeil threaded it through to Beto. Both de Ligt and Onana came racing out to the striker but he still managed to slot an effort underneath the pair. Sadly for the Brazilian it nestled into the side netting as he got his angles wrong. Another warning for Amorim’s side that they could not take The Toffees for granted here.
United forced a corner and the ball dropped to Rashford in the box. His side-footed effort into the bottom corner was turned into his own goal by the defender. Whether the short arms of Pickford would have reached the initial shot, we will never know. Either way, the shot was on target so the Man Utd striker would get to keep his goal.
Everton then tried to play out from the back but Pickford’s drilled pass into Doucoure on the halfway line was the wrong option. Immediately Amad dispossessed him and drove forward. He played it into Fernandes, who unselfishly laid it on a plate for Zirkzee. The Dutch forward drilled his shot into the centre of the goal to double the Red Devils’ lead.
The Toffees had made a good start to the game but fell behind against the run of play. Man Utd were now looking in complete control of this encounter as the sides headed in at the interval. Given that the visitors have struggled so much in front of goal of late, it was hard to see a way back into this for them. Everything was going according to plan for Ruben Amorim.
A minute after the restart, things went from bad to worse for Sean Dyche’s team. Amad spotted the run of Rashford in the box and he slotted home to get his brace. It was no more than Man Utd had deserved, since going ahead, they had taken this game by the horns. The Old Trafford crowd were starting to enjoy the first home match under their new manager.
Amad was proving to be a thorn in the side of the visitors. He robbed Tarkowski on the halfway line and they hit them on the counter again. The young winger then laid off to Zirkzee in the box and he finished well to grab his second goal of the game. That was the end of any hopes from an Everton perspective, there was no way back from here.
Everton struggled to lay a single glove on their opponents in the second-half. A Calvert-Lewin diving header proved to be the only effort on goal but the striker’s header was straight at Onana. Of course he made an acrobatic save, you would expect nothing else from the keeper. It was not enough to make the travelling fans think it was a worthwhile Sunday afternoon out.
Man Utd held on for three points, with a clean sheet to boot. They fully deserved the win and will be hoping this is the start of the Ruben Amorim era. Only time will tell. Everton need to get out of this rut they find themselves in currently. The longer this goes on, the more they will get dragged into this relegation battle. Sean Dyche will not change what they do but doing the same things and expecting different results is the first sign of madness.
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