Cristiano Ronaldo showed no signs of disappointment at being left on the bench for Manchester United's clash with Everton.
The Portuguese forward was omitted from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting XI as the United boss opted to give Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani a chance to impress.
And it was Martial who managed to put his struggles to one side to break the deadlock before half-time.
The Frenchman finished off a well-worked move by United, starting with Mason Greenwood's incisive pass to Bruno Fernandes outside the box.
Fernandes turned superbly before laying the ball into Martial's path to finish via a slight and kind deflection off an Everton defender.
His goal was well received on the United bench, with Ronaldo particularly enthused as he raised his arms aloft in celebration before standing to applaud his team-mate.
The strike will no doubt come as a boost to Martial, who has found himself on the fringes of the first team since Ronaldo's arrival in the summer.
Solskjaer didn't leave it much longer to switch the pair over, though, as Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho entered the fray in exchange for Martial and Cavani on 57 minutes.
Sadly for United's manager, the substitutions didn't have the desired impact, as Everton hit back with an equaliser eight minutes later.
A swift counter attack by the visitors found Demarai Gray wide on the left wing, who fed a ball into Abdoulaye Doucoure who was charging forward in support.
Doucoure's run occupied some of United's defenders, leaving room for Andros Townsend to run into and finish after receiving a pass from his team-mate.
Townsend celebrated his equaliser by recreating Ronaldo's famed 'Siu' celebration routine, rubbing salt into the wound for the United striker, who was gesturing his discontent at conceding a goal.
United were unable to find a response as Everton held out for a valuable point on the road, and almost stole all three late on.
Yerry Mina had the ball in the back of the net after finishing Tom Davies' measured pass, only to be denied after a VAR review ruled the Toffees' defender had strayed offside.
Ronaldo then stormed straight down the tunnel after the final whistle, visibly frustrated at the result as United miss the chance to go top, on a weekend where at least one of their rivals Liverpool or Manchester City will drop points.
Solskjaer had opted to give Ronaldo a slight rest for the fixture, admitting in his press conference on Friday the 36-year-old needs to be "managed" to ensure he can continue his strong run of form over the whole campaign.
Rio Ferdinand reflected on Solskjaer's selection post-match, telling BT Sport: "A club like Manchester United with the depth they have in their squad should be able to get the job done, you have to remember the players that were missing in this Everton team, neither of their strikers played, probably the weakest they've been for a while, you’d expect to go and beat them.
"Nine games without a clean sheet is a poor record for Man Utd, that’s what undone them today they controlled large parts of this game but give up a lot of chances."
