Everton played over 75 minutes one man down but held on to win all three points away at Manchester United this Monday.
The Toffees have now won consecutive games for only the second time this season, and the first in nearly three months.
They worked hard to earn each of the three points, having to play with 10 men following Gana Gueye’s red card for a fight with his own teammate Michael Keane.
What had potential to destroy their hopes ended up rallying the whole team together, who actually went 1-0 after the sending off and held on to get the win.
Meanwhile, David Moyes finally got the first win of his career as a visiting manager at Old Trafford. And he had a lot to do with the final result – as did Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who hit a wonder (and surprisingly right-footed) strike that proved the difference between both sides.
How David Moyes’ strategy gave Everton the edge
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One man down, same game plan
Everton didn’t go into the game trying to dominate possession and control all aspects of the game. They did often try to recycle the ball for a few stretches just in order to not run after their opponents all the time.
But the good news is that they didn’t shy away from the match or just sit in the lowest of blocks after going down to 10 men. Instead, the Toffees maintained their composure, looked to play out from the back a little bit before launching long balls to Thierno Barry (more on that later) and tried to attack the Red Devils. They chased the goal that eventually came and earned it.
After opening the scoring, they still refused to sit back. David Moyes had them in a 4-4-1 but Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye often jumped up to press and make the United backline uncomfortable. Only in their defensive half did the wingers join the defence to form a back five – and circumstantially.
In the end they took all their shots in the first half and the final 45 minutes were more about resistance than anything else. The Red Devils did have a few chances, but none worth more than 0.20 xG (Bruno Fernandes’ attempt in the 71st minute).
Man United’s mix of collective faults and individual wastefulness
Manchester United did have four attempts that were classified as big chances, but arguably only one of them was an easy and ‘comfortable’ shot (Bruno’s).
Ruben Amorim’s men also failed to capitalise on a few opportunities that presented themselves. There were paths into the final third down the middle that the team didn’t recognise. Out wide, they would often get in 3v3 situations but never created combinations of movements to get in good crossing positions.
Mostly, it felt like they would just launch the ball inside the box for the sake of it – which made life easier for James Tarkowski and Michael Keane.
One aspect that the Portuguese manager could have tapped into more is the presence of the centre-backs in the final third. In the last 20-30 minutes, both Grealish and Ndiaye were joining the defence at the same time and forming a back six. That would have been a good way to counter that, having them unmarked to cross from more comfortable positions or play through balls to any overlapping players.
It happened once with Yoro down the right. It led to a neat combination between him, Zirkzee and Bryan Mbeumo, and the Cameroonian forced a big save from Pickford.
They also struggled to stretch the Toffees’ back four with their front five in the first half. Only one time did they manage to do so, and it ended with Dorgu missing a decent chance, placing his shot well over the crossbar.
At the same time, however, you could point to individual mistakes in a lot of their attacking and defensive actions. Dewsbury-Hall got past Bruno Fernandes and Leny Yoro way too easily on his way to scoring his goal, for instance.
The finishing also left a lot to be desired. Many misplaced passes whenever Man United tried to transition from defence to attack. A lot of them could have led to dangerous situations that ultimately never happened. In the end, it felt like the Red Devils didn’t risk themselves as much as they could have.
Thierno Barry’s towering night
Everton are still not getting enough from their strikers. They may be a number nine – and maybe a couple of full-backs – away from having a truly strong team, able to compete at a higher level. But tonight, Thierno Barry gave them exactly what they needed.
The Frenchman ended the game with 23 aerial duels contested and 14 won – both records for a player in a Premier League game this season. The previous highs had come from Southampton’s Paul Onuachu vs Ipswich Town back in January (27 and 16).
Barry had an important role for Everton acting as a hub for long balls. Sometimes it was to establish the team in the attacking half, get teammates involved or win second balls.
But his aerial presence was also a good way to get the Toffees away from their own goal, while Man United ran backwards, to then play it back to defensive midfielders or centre-backs. It allowed them to initiate build-ups with more space to breathe.
After Gueye’s red card, he started dropping deeper down the right side, getting on the end of James Garner long vertical passes from the back to make the team progress as a unit. They got to the attacking half in the first place in the build-up that led to Dewsbury-Hall’s goal exactly like this.
It was a beautiful and impressive long sequence of passes that had Barry was the connecting piece that enabled everything.
Honourable mentions
Grealish and Ndiaye used their skill and technique to hold the ball in the attacking half, win fouls and waste precious seconds many times in the second half. In addition, closed down as full-backs whenever it was necessary and were also big parts of the Toffees’ win.
So were the Keane and Tarkowski, who made basically no mistakes and sent back everything that went their way. Just like Jordan Pickford, who made six saves and prevented 1.85 goals – his most in a game since May (2.16 vs Newcastle).
Everton have threatened to find form a few times already this season. A heroic performance leading to a 1-0 away win with 10 men at Old Trafford could be just what they needed to finally get going.