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Manchester United were absolutely dominant as they thrashed Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
In what was his first Premier League match at home as Man United manager, Ruben Amorim was surely hungry for a win. While Rashford scored a brace, it was Joshua Zirkzee who emerged as a surprise standout, showing some unbelievable playmaking skills while netting two goals of his own to hand Amorim plenty of cause to celebrate.
United made their home-ground advantage count early on, dominating the ball and doing well to combat Everton’s heavy press with some excellent rapid-fire passing from up close.
Kobbie Mainoo took a blistering shot from far, forcing a save from the goalkeeper. While Dwight McNeil almost got through United’s defence with an opportune counter-attack, Casemiro stopped him with a strong yet clean tackle.
Lisandro Martinez played a surgical long ball to Diogo Dalot, who almost found his way to a goal only for Jarrad Branthwaite to deny him with a sliding tackle. Amad Diallo volleyed off the corner kick; however, his shot ricocheted off the Everton defence.
The visitors applied pressure on occasion as well, with Jesper Lindstrøm taking a long-range strike that Andre Onana did well to get a hand to. It was a fiery opening 10 minutes from both sides.
14 minutes in, Joshua Zirkzee played a sensational ball across the box to Amad Diallo, whose subsequent pass drifted wide across the face of goal.
After 20 minutes, Everton striker Beto beat Matthijs de Ligt to the ball and almost skipped past Onana. With Onana blocking the goal, Beto tried to go further wide; however, both the United shot-stopper and De Ligt recovered well to obscure his line of sight and force him into a shot that went wide.
In the 33rd minute, Old Trafford erupted as United got the breakthrough. Bruno Fernandes played a corner kick out wide to Marcus Rashford, who was waiting on the edge of the box. Rashford struck a volley goalward, which deflected off Branthwaite’s foot and into the net.
Four minutes before the break, United doubled their lead. Amad did spectacularly well to burst forward and intercept the ball from Branthwaite, with Fernandes pouncing on the loose ball and hammering it to Zirkzee, who hammered the ball into the back of the net with a resounding strike. 2-0 to United.
After the restart, United refused to take their foot off the pedal, with Fernandes slotting the ball through Ashley Young’s legs and surging into the box, only for the keeper to catch his deflected shot.
Following two minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle for half-time. United could hold their head up high as they made their way down the tunnel, given their ambitious showing in the first 45 minutes of action. Amorim would surely be satisfied with his team’s huge effort.
Mere seconds after the break, United continued their trend of scoring straight after kick-off. Casemiro won a header off Everton’s goal kick, laying it off to Zirkzee, who threaded a neat ball to Amad. The winger surged down the flank, passing to Rashford, who belted the ball past the keeper. 3-0 to a dominant United.
49 minutes in, Mainoo was booked for a careless tackle, not only handing Everton an opportune free-kick but getting himself banned from the upcoming match against Arsenal. A poor lapse in judgement from the midfielder ahead of a crucial fixture for United.
Moments later, Lisandro Martinez was booked for a foul on Beto; however, upon close inspection, no contact was made. A poor decision by the referee. Suddenly, two United players would be banned from the Arsenal clash.
In the 53rd minute, Rashford broke through Everton’s high line, doing well to weave past the defence, only for Vitalii Mykolenko’s leg to block his shot and allow the goalkeeper to catch the ball.
With little over 35 minutes to play, Harry Maguire marked his return from injury, replacing Matthijs de Ligt. Luke Shaw, another recent returnee from the injury room, replaced Noussair Mazraoui.
On the hour mark, Fernandes burst into the box after losing his mark, only for Jordan Pickford to come out of his goal and clear the ball with a sliding challenge.
Moments later, United struck again. Amad intercepted the ball from Tarkowski on the halfway line, surging past the defence before passing the ball to an incoming Zirkzee. The Dutch striker showed absolute confidence as he slotted the ball coolly past the keeper for United’s fourth goal of the afternoon.
With 25 minutes to play, Amorim made some fresh substitutions. Casemiro came off for Alejandro Garnacho, while Fernandes made way for Manuel Ugarte.
In the 80th minute, Mason Mount came on as United’s final substitution, replacing Mainoo.
A minute later, Onana landed awkwardly after catching an incoming cross. After spending a minute on the ground, he managed to make his way to his feet.
Onana was quick to get back to his best, expertly blocking a close-range header by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Four minutes of added time were announced, leaving plenty of time for United to grab a fifth goal if they wanted to make an even bolder statement.
Halfway through stoppage time, Amad’s legs were taken out in the box, prompting a chorus of cries for a penalty. The referee dismissed the players’ and fans’ protests, however, opting to play on.
Still, it made little difference as United held on for a resounding 4-0 win, showing their clear dominance and their ambition to succeed under Amorim. The team has loudly and clearly announced the start of the Amorim era, sending their win over Everton as a warning sign to any foes who stand in their way.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford, Zirkzee, Amad, Casemiro, Dalot, Mainoo
Subs: Maguire, Shaw, Ugarte, Garnacho, Mount
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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