Everton came from behind twice to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United on Sunday.
After a first half of few chances and low quality from both sides, the game sparked into life after the break as Bryan Mbeumo scored a superb individual goal right after the break.
Everton huffed and puffed throughout the second half in a bid to salvage a result and found their breakthrough with a thumping near-post effort from Tyrique Georg in the 83rd minute.
Merseyside joy lasted just five minutes as Benjamin Sesko came off the bench and scored a late header, just as he did on Man Utd’s last visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, David Moyes’ side wouldn’t be denied and snatched a point with a stunning strike from debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles at the death.
Spirit carries threadbare Everton through
Everton’s deadline day and summer window as a whole was the stuff of nightmares. Star man Iliman Ndiaye departed for Manchester City, while other important figures like Tim Iroegbunam, Beto and Idrissa Gana Gueye left. Meanwhile, the Toffees infamously saw their move for Folarin Balogun fall apart, leaving Thierno Barry as their only recognised striker.
For large parts of this match, David Moyes was left pondering how the consequences of that transfer disaster might look for his side.
Everton were often slow to pounce on openings in the Man Utd defence and lacked the craft to generate meaningful chances. Even with the equalisers, their 18 shots barely crept them over 1.00 xG, and a quarter of that was made up by Barry’s header off target just before half-time.
But to their credit, Everton reacted very well to going behind in the second half. Their defence tightened up, their midfielders were sharper into challenges and, especially following the introductions of Jack Grealish and Hayden Hackney, they started to move the ball with purpose.
Moments after Hackney entered, James Garner came off injured to put further stress on what is already the thinnest depth chart in the Premier League. And yet, Everton still didn’t let their heads drop.
The Toffees were good value for their equaliser when it came, but even then, it took a moment of magic from George to beat Senne Lammens at his near post, rather than being able to generate a high-quality opening through a swift passing move or dangerous cross.
Sesko thought he’d won the game in the 88th minute, but if there is one thing this Everton side are not short of, it’s spirit. With practically the last kick of the game, Ainsley Maitland-Niles dispatched a stunning equaliser on his debut, sending Hill Dickinson Stadium into chaos and earning the hosts a precious point.
There are serious concerns about Everton’s ability to open teams up, while they’re one or two more injuries away from utter disaster. However, for now, their togetherness and unwillingness to accept the narrative might just be enough to keep them afloat.
Defensive jitters cost Man Utd amid Lammens nerves
Man Utd tore Ipswich Town to shreds last weekend, but this time around, they had to battle hard in a game often bereft of quality.
The Red Devils’ inability to regularly break down Everton from open play will likely worry their fans. However, it must be remembered that the Toffees have been surviving on their defensive quality in recent years, with Jordan Pickford often at the top of the clean sheets standings.
It was through sheer individual quality that Carrick’s side found joy, with Mbeumo’s opener a thing of beauty and Sesko’s winner an instinctive striker’s goal, finding space between defenders for a free header.
At the other end, there will be serious concerns.
Senne Lammens was anything but authoritative between the sticks for Man Utd. The Belgian has shown promise since arriving at Old Trafford, but on Sunday, he was a bag of nerves, punching the ball when he could have caught it, firing off slack passes with regularity, and disappointingly getting beaten by George at his near post — even if it was a powerful effort.
Lammens’ anxiety rubbed off on his defenders. Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez failed to clear crosses convincingly, while the longer the game went on, the more Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot were pinned back by Everton’s wingers.
That’s two away games played and just one point on the board for Man Utd to start the season, against sides expected to battle relegation. If they’re to maintain their Champions League status and even challenge for the title, that has to improve very quickly.