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Score: Everton 0 - 2 Manchester United
Goalscorers: Anthony Martial 57', Jesse Lingard 80' (both assists from the man of the match, Paul Pogba)
Manchester United turned on the heat in the second half to begin the year 2018 with a much-needed win and climb back up to 2nd place (Chelsea play Arsenal in a couple of days) and inject some much-needed positivity within the supporters ranks.
Here, then, are the five key talking points from the match
#5 Manchester United completely overhaul their system - and formation - and succeed
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After being forced to make a raft of changes, Manchester United finally broke a seemingly endless loop of three consecutive draws (performance and motivation levels dipping with each passing match) with a cathartic win at Goodison Park.
While in the first half they looked like they were carrying all the hangovers of the catastrophic nightmare that was December, by the second half, they looked a different side. Where in the first half, they all got into each others way as everyone flitted about in the attacking third without a specific role, in the second half things changed when Paul Pogba started hugging the left touchline and wreaking havoc down the left - and Juan Mata did much the same down the other side (In fact it was Mata who started off the spell that built up momentum for the opener with a cracking shot that cannoned off Pickford's far post).
With Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial moving around fluidly, United played their best football for a month and a half, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Hopefully, for United fans, the Red Devils can carry this momentum through the rest of the year.
#4 Sam Allardyce and Everton could do with a sense of adventure
Where United found their lost mojo, Sam Allardyce's men buried it even further within the sand. Playing a back 6 for a vast majority of that second half - Yannick Bolasie and Nikola Vlasic (two very exciting wingers) acting as auxiliary fullbacks - Everton allowed United to dominate them after having stood toe-to-toe with them in the first half.
While it is understandable that in his early days Allardyce erred on the side of caution - like that dour draw against Liverpool - he is into his stride now and it's about time he shows Goodison Park that he can have their lads playing some quality football as well. As it stands, this second consecutive loss is a body blow to the momentum he'd been building up
If Allardyce needs to be considered amongst the top bracket of managers in the Premier League - an adulation he has been re-seeking since the end of his magical Bolton days (Okocha, Hierro, Campo et al) - he needs to prove that he can make Everton a force to reckon with.
And it should all start with him, and consequently the team, imbibing a greater sense of adventure.
#3 Jesse Lingard's improvement - as well as Luke Shaw's - is a credit to Mourinho's management
Anyone who says Jose Mourinho hasn't improved Manchester United's players hasn't seen United play much this season - or simply don't like the man. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have been solid figures this season in defence (the latter when fit, which is much more often now than before). Ashley Young has looked a whole new footballer - and a natural at left-back. Anthony Martial has become more clinical, and more hard-working and while Mourinho still seems to be working on the likes of Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku, there can be no denying the positive effect he's had on the players in his squad.
On the night, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard provided the perfect example of this.
Shaw was brilliant down the wing and worked tirelessly all night while Jesse Lingard has been Manchester United's standout performer over the past two months... both were treated rather roughly by Mourinho in the beginning (Shaw, of course, more than his compatriot) but both have shown the mental toughness that the Portuguese so prizes and have turned a corner in their careers.
Jesse Lingard especially deserves credit for the indispensable player he has become:
#2 James McCarthy adds much needed, irreverent, bite to the Toffees
The moment the Irishman came on in the place of a tired looking Wayne Rooney, Everton looked a different outfit. Snarling into tackles all over the place, pressing aggressively, getting into fights against all and sundry... McCarthy upped Everton's tempo from the get-go and held complete sway over midfield during the brief period Everton gave United's defence a right ol' proper scare (for ten or so minutes before Lingard's killer second goal).
His return to fitness is a much needed boost to a team that looked for large parts of the game in great need of some irreverence toward the opposition, a touch of bite and spirit that can often help a team get the crowd on their side (like it did Goodison for said period) and can often induce enough panic within opposition ranks to help grab a goal or two.
With him fully-fit, Everton will be much the better team in the second-half of the season.
#1 When Paul Pogba turns on the style - he's unstoppable
Here's how his numbers stack up
That's his 7th assist in the Premier League. In his 12th Premier League appearance.
While for a vast majority of December he was asked to - or he did, of his own volition - the quarterback role, pinging passes hither and thither he was often unable to influence games in a way that he, his manager, and the fans would have liked.
But given freedom on the left flank (which he ironically gained by being more disciplined in the second half - sticking to his role rather than floating all over the place), he utterly eviscerated the Everton right wing, producing the kind of thrilling football that United paid £89 million to see in the first place.
If he can consistently produce this kind of form, it's hard to see how anyone can keep him in check for the duration of a full 90 minutes.
Oh, and it's not like he was bad last season... it's just that those around him have become better: 7 of the 23 chances Paul Pogba has created in PL this season have been converted This number 4 of 57 last season.
Give the lad - and his haircuts, and his dabs - a break, eh?
He deserves it.
