A last-gasp penalty by Zlatan Ibrahimovic rescued a point for Manchester United in a dramatic finish against Everton at Old Trafford. Earlier in the game, Everton took advantage of some slack defending from a corner from Jose Mourinho’s side to take the lead via a flick from Phil Jagielka.
The hosts pushed hard for an equaliser, but could not find a way through a stubborn Toffees’ defence. Their efforts appeared seemed have gone in vain until deep into injury-time, when Ashley Williams was given his marching orders by referee Neil Swarbrick for a deliberate handball against Luke Shaw’s goal-bound shot inside the box, resulting in a penalty. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made no mistake in converting from 12 yards to snatch a draw for the Red Devils.
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Here are the player ratings from an eye-opening encounter at Manchester:
Manchester United
David de Gea – 5.5/10
de Gea surprisingly looked unsure of whether to come out of his goal-line to catch and clear balls. He could possibly have intervened before Jagielka’s goal-bound flick. The telepathy between him and his defenders was clearly absent.
Ashley Young – 6.5/10
Young looked vibrant in the first half by pushing forward and thumping in crosses, but suffered a knock early in the second half and was replaced by Luke Shaw.
Eric Bailly – 8/10
Bailly had a fantastic game, closing down channels for Lukaku on the counter-attack in the second half and making vital tackles to stop the Toffees from applying the finishing touch.
Marcos Rojo – 5/10
It was a forgettable game for Rojo thanks to a series of individual mistakes. He should have done better to close down Jagielka for the Everton goal and mistimed a number of sliding tackles to gift Everton goal-scoring opportunities. He also appeared to be outmuscled by Lukaku on a couple of instances.
Daley Blind – 5/10
Blind’s corners were below par, so was his ability to affect the game on an attacking front from the left-back position. He was also guilty of ball-watching to allow Mirallas to run into acres of space on the wing, only for his relieved eyes to watch Belgian slip at the edge of the box. The Dutch international’s free-kick from around 20 yards which was saved by Joel Robles was the only positive he could take from this game. He was taken off at half-time.
Michael Carrick – 7/10
Carrick did what he always does best from midfield – pulling the strings and sending advancing midfielders on their way in order to break down a resolute Toffees’ defence.
Marouane Fellaini – 6/10
Fellaini was, as usual, the main target of long balls as United pushed hard for an equaliser. A middling first half – where he misplaced a few passes and committed a couple of fouls was quickly put under the carpet with an influential second half, winning headers in the box and giving his side multiple chances to grab the equaliser.
Jesse Lingard – 6.5/10
Lingard saw a sliced shot narrowly miss the target in the first half. His pace on the right wing created problems for Leighton Baines but was unable to convert them into goal-scoring chances.
Ander Herrera – 7/10
Herrera hit the crossbar on the follow-up following Blind’s free-kick. He was industrious in midfield, making crunching tackles to prevent Everton from making certain advances in midfield.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10
Rashford’s pace on the left wing was a delight to watch, but he was kept at bay by Mason Holgate for the most part of the 90 minutes. His fleet-footedness versus Holgate’s focus was one of the duels of the game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7/10
Ibrahimovic should have scored early in the game, seeing his shot blocked by Williams when he could have been better off attempting a chip over the advancing Joel. He made his daunting presence felt as the game wore on, holding on to possession and looking to eke out that quarter of a yard of space in a crowded Everton defence. His last-gasp penalty saved a point for Jose Mourinho’s side.
Substitutes:
Paul Pogba – 7/10
Pogba’s introduction into the game in the second half tilted the tie in United’s favour. In a free role he drove the ball forward and picked out most of his intended targets with some impressive passing.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6/10
The Armenian could not express his creative ability for the period he was on the field, instead having to contend with lofted crosses to give United multiple chances of making a comeback.
Luke Shaw – 7/10
Making his first appearance since being publicly criticised by Mourinho for lack of commitment in training, Shaw looked sharp from the very moment he took the pitch. Apart from making a last-man tackle to stop Everton from scoring a second, he made numerous high-presses, thumping in cross after cross in the paths of Zlatan and Fellaini. His goal-bound shot was handled by Williams, resulting in the penalty and red card. It was the perfect response from Shaw – just what Mourinho needed from his left-back.
Everton
Joel Robles – 7.5/10
Joel was brilliant in between the sticks, making a couple of excellent fingertip saves to deny Blind and Herrera, suffering a knock during the former incident.
Mason Holgate – 7/10
Holgate did a remarkable job of cancelling out Rashford’s pace and threat with the ball.
Phil Jagielka – 8.5/10
Veteran Jagielka had a night to remember at Old Trafford, scoring Everton’s goal and using all his experience to nearly frustrate Manchester United with some terrific blocks and timely clearances.
Ashley Williams – 8/10
Like Jagielka, Williams also had a phenomenal 90 minutes, keeping his focus intact to keep Zlatan and company at bay. His red card in the dying moments of the game for a professional handball – which resulted in a converted spot-kick – unfortunately, strikes him down.
Leighton Baines – 7/10
Baines made quite a few useful runs down the left channel, giving fellow veteran Ashley Young a tough evening tracking him. He was defensively solid as well with a number of blocks from crosses coming in from Young and Lingard.
Gareth Barry – 7.5/10
Barry was the ideal leader in midfield, safeguarding his defenders against the plethora of United attacks and slotting in as a third central defender himself to cut out any possible spaces.
Idrissa Gana Gueye – 7/10
Gueye made a quiet influence on the game, knocking the ball around with confidence in the first half which was dominated by the Toffees while joining his defenders in a near-successful mission of keeping a clean sheet.
Tom Davies – 5.5/10
Davies was unable to make any significant impact in the game, often over-utilising his energy and pace to end up taking heavy touches and lose possession.
Ross Barkley – 7/10
Barkley was impressive in the attacking third, haring towards a poor Marcos Rojo with the ball and threatening to carve open the United defence with his dribbling prowess.
Romelu Lukaku – 6/10
Lukaku will regret on his inability to capitalise on counter-attacks to give Everton the second goal and put the game to bed. He was either well watched by Bailly or his decision-making inside the box when in space was poor. His strength and pace did give United’s defence a stern test at Old Trafford.
Kevin Mirallas – 7.5/10
The Belgian had a good game on either side of Lukaku, getting himself into spaces to exploit on the wing on a regular basis. He had a glorious opportunity to have a shy at goal late in the first half – guiding the ball through oceans of space after United were caught ball-watching – before stumbling on his tracks.
Substitutes:
Matthew Pennington – 6.5/10
Pennington was introduced as extra defensive cover to maintain the one-goal lead. He was solid and individually blameless for the concession of the equaliser.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – N/A
A forward by nature, Calvert-Lewin replaced Mirallas late in the game to have an impact on the counter-attack but didn’t have the time or the opportunity to do so.
