Preview

I predicted 2-1 to United before the game. Everton had a decent chance going into this game with good results recently including ending AZ Alkmar’s 32 games unbeaten home record in Europe. United in contrast is in top form after having beaten Liverpool at Anfield last week.

The Match

Everton hasn’t lost a game in 12 matches. They battled very hard and United found that it was a difficult game. They fought for every ball and made life difficult for United and restricted their attacking flair.

United needed a moment of inspiration to lit up the game quickly and Cristiano Ronaldo done the job for them. Luckily for Ferguson, his starting lineup was pretty strong – Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Giggs who all started today. A beautiful finish by a player who has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He’s fantastic and is in my view a key Man Utd player and also 3 points to me on Fantasy Football!

United’s lead didn’t last long. Everton kept on battling back and they got level pretty soon after. Steven Peinnar who has come into the Everton side this year as a new person. I’d never heard of him before the start of this season. The lads done a solid job and he built on it with a corner in and Tim Cahill headed home like he always does, It was a fantastic goal by Cahill and he punched the corner flag in celebration.

Everton’s resilence didn’t last long either; they couldn’t contain the ball possession and fell prey to United’s counter attacks. Carlos Queiroz pointed on both team’s performance at this point:

There was only one side trying to win the game at this point in the game that was true, Everton were trying to hold onto what they had, In the second half it didn’t get much better for United there attacks dried up and only a Tevez effort saved stopped them taking the lead but apart from that Everton had Man Utd in their pocket.

Everton’s defensive strategy and United’s woeful chances made Ferguson. He brought on Saha for Carrick and it was a wasteful subsitituion as the substitution didn’t do anything productive. United was quoted saying:

But, especially in the second half, our performance was full of desire and determination” it may have been full of “desire and determination” but it was lacking creativity and skill to unlock Everton’s defence strange for a team with so much talent.

Then, came the penalty. Giggs was brought down by Pienarr with a lazy leg challenge. Ronaldo stood up to the task and did the usual routine. David Moyes was heard saying after the game:

“It was a moment of madness”

Having said that, he refuses to criticize or comment further on Pienna cause the player had been outstanding today.

Verdict

Man Utd – Didn’t look fantastic today. Their defence were threatened by Everton after the equalizer. In attack, they were lacking in the final third. If Pienna had not given away a stupid penalty, the game would end 1-1. In reference to Arsenal’s game last evening, United were lucky to leave with 3 full points.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Everton- Defended well but one simple mistake is so fatal in this competitive league. It was a pity to lose the game despite their efforts and their ability to nullify Manchester Utd’s attacking players and then crumbled at the last moment. David Moyes’s emotions can be seen from picture above. It was a bitter pill to swallow especially losing the game due to a late goal. However, Everton did brilliantly today and they are having a great season!

My Rating: 7/10

Man Of the Match: Ronaldo for his fantastic goal and then for scoring the penalty under pressure.

Final Score: Man Utd 2-1 Everton

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