Bruno Fernandes explains decision to let Marcus Rashford take spot kick in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Everton

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has said that Marcus Rashford was confident of dispatching his spot-kick, so he allowed him to take it, during their win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Red Devils saw off the Toffees 2-0 at Old Trafford, courtesy of penalties by Fernandes and Rashford in the first half. The Portuguese broke the deadlock in the 12th minute from the spot, before Rashford doubled their advantage with another goal from 12 yards.

Fernandes had the chance to double his score by taking the second penalty too, but he gave it to his attacking cohort, who made no mistake. After the match, the playmaker was asked by TNT Sport (via Metro) about his decision to let Rashford take the penalty, to which he responded by saying:

"We both kick the penalties. I asked Marcus [Rashford] if he wanted to take and he said he was confident. He is one of the penalty takers that the manager chooses. I felt I had my one; Rashy could get his goal from the penalty."

Manchester United started the match brightly and Alejandro Garnacho won a penalty after being tripped over by James Tarkowski. Fernandes curled the resultant penalty into the bottom-right corner.

The Argentine winger was then brought down again inside the box, this time by Ben Godfrey, and Rashford stepped up for the second penalty, making no mistake.

Everton upped the ante after the break, taking the game to United with more directness and attacking flair. They managed 12 shots in the second half, but couldn't make any of their chances count.

Manchester United remain in sixth position with 47 points from 28 games, while Everton are down in 16th with 25 points, just five above the relegation zone.

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Manchester United beat Everton for the 5th consecutive time

Manchester United have now beaten Everton in their last five fixtures. Having failed to win their previous three, the Red Devils have turned the tides around against the Merseyside outfit to get back to winning ways.

For the record, this is their best run in the fixture since a streak of nine consecutive wins over Everton from December 1999 to February 2004. Interestingly, all those wins came in the league.

In their current run, United have one scalp in the FA Cup too, winning 3-1 at home in the third round of the competition last year. Today also marked the third successive time that Everton failed to score against them, their worst scoring run since a run of six goalless matches between September 1992 until October 1994.