Full-time: Everton 0-2 Manchester United
There are a smattering of boos at the final whistle but it was clear that without a proper striker Everton were always going to struggle if Manchester United’s quality shone through – which it did, eventually. And for 10 minutes in the second half, Everton came very close to drawing level. United move back into second and Everton stay in ninth place. There’ll be a match report here shortly. Thanks for your emails. Bye.
Updated
90+2min: Only one minute left Everton fans.
90+1 min: Tuanzebe replaces Guardian Footballer of the Year and all round good guy Juan Mata.
Updated
90 min: Everton win a corner. Davies swings it in and Keane gets a clean head on it but sends his effort about 15 feet wide.
89 min: Pogba falls over in the corner after attempting a trick. It’s the first time he’s put a foot wrong in this game. He’s been consistent throughout.
87 min: Daley comes on for Lingard, who is given a rapturous round of applause by the travelling fans in the Bullens Road stand.
85 min: United are pass, pass, passing their way towards three points here having sucked all hope out of Goodison Park.
@GreggBakowski - "two banks of Allardyce's Best" - I'm sure that I've ordered that in a pub before. If memory recalls it was dull but did the job.
— Short and Smiley (@shortandsmiley) January 1, 2018
Ended up being a bit flat today after hinting that it could be lively.
83 min: Lingard is hacked down cynically by Holgate when he was motoring through midfield towards goal. Pogba tries to get involved and grabs hold of Holgate’s shirt before realising it’s a bad idea when Andre Marriner is stood next to him. Holgate is booked.
Goal! Everton 0-2 Manchester United (Lingard 81)
What a strike! Everton make a hash of a throw-in and Shaw nips in to pick up possession. He feeds the ball forwards to Lingard who, 35 yards from goal, turns and drives at the Everton defence, dropping his shoulder and leaving the sluggish Keane in his wake before curling a fizzing effort into the top corner. Game over.
Updated
78 min: Lingard tries to kill the game with a drive at goal from 20 yards but Pickford gets down sharply and tips it wide. United are turning the game in their favour again.
77 min: Everton are well on top now but how they could do with a player in the box who could finish. All their chances are falling to players for whom goals are a rare and curious thing.
76 min: Before that lively spell for Everton, Martial was sent clattering into the advertising boards and appeared to hurt a shoulder. He seems OK but he’s replaced by Rashford.
75 min: Davies tries to spin Matic in the box but goes to ground too easy as he fails to round the hulking midfielder. There are shouts for a penalty but they’re in vain.
73 min: Everton win a corner and Holgate stabs the ball at goal amid a panic. Again, United survive. I think it was Pogba who blocked the shot. McCarthy has more than justified Allardyce’s substitution. “Nice to see Lennon and McCarthy come (on) together just then. Can they work it out?” croons Mark Lloyd. Maybe Mark.
Updated
71 min: Everton have built up a head of steam. Holgate, again, pulls the ball back and Davies has a shot blocked before somebody else clatters the ball at a defender amid a throng of bodies only for United to clear. Everton are first to every loose ball. And Davies and McCarthy are starting to boss midfield.
69 min: McCarthy wins the ball and Everton work the ball forwards and get numbers into the United half. The ball falls to Holgate on the right, who whips a great ball to the near-post, where Niasse stoops but heads wide of the near post. That was good chance and promising from Everton.
68 min: With a little lull in the action here’s David Flynn with a theory as to why United are looking slick: “Is it just me or do United look more dangerous today with no striker? With no target man to hit endless, aimless crosses in at, the front four are actually being forced to interact with each other and break Everton down.”
66 min: The one sliver of hope for Everton is that they regularly come from behind in games. They also did so in a game against Liverpool after being outplayed at Anfield. OK, two slivers of hope then.
65 min: Martial skips inside his marker and shapes to shoot from 15 yards but instead tries to find Pogba on the far post with a scoop. Pogba is inches away from getting his head on to it.
62 min: Boos ring out as McCarthy comes on for Rooney. Before that Lennon replaces Bolasie. Just Everton’s two main goal threats gone then. Is that a non-too-subtle message to the board?
61 min: Pogba wriggles past two Everton players near the corner flag and then does a double stepover before stinging Pickford’s palms from 15 yards. He’s dancing.
59 min: This has been an odd half. Having had some success against United by playing the first half with a little optimism, Everton began the second by reversing to the edge of their own penalty area and inviting Manchester United on to them. This is all United. There are flicks and tricks all over the place now. Pogba has just shown a bit of insouciant brilliance to send Martial down the touchline with a half-pass half-Cruyff turn.
Updated
58 min: United are now bullying Andre Marriner. Pogba clatters into the referee and sends him flying. Honk!
Goal! Everton 0-1 Manchester United (Martial 57)
Well, that goal wasn’t just coming, it had booked itself in from the moment the half started. Pogba picks the ball up in the left channel and draws a defender towards him before shifting the ball inside and playing a square ball to Martial on the edge of the box. The forward takes a touch and curls the ball into the top corner with a swish of his right boot. A lovely finish.
Updated
54 min: United a re knocking on the door. Pogba plays a one-two with Lingard before shuffling into the box and guiding ashort ball across teh six-yard box that Martial is a yard away from. This is ominous stuff. Everton have no ‘out’ ball.
52 min: United have found their groove. Shaw bursts down the left wing and fires a low cross into the six-yard box. Herrera’s eyes light up – Jackpot! – but Martina steps in front of him and clatters the ball away to safety.
50 min: Rojo drives a glorious cross-field pass all of 40 yards to Lingard on the right. He knocks the ball back inside for Mata, who shifts the ballout of his feet sharply and doesn’t think twice before cracking a shot at goal that beats Pickford but clatters the far post and goes wide. The ball just started to drift away towards the end of its arc. But what a wonderful effort.
Updated
49 min: Everton have hardly had a kick this half. United are tip-tapping the ball around in front of two banks of Allardyce’s best. It certainly looks like Everton have settled-in deeper this half.
Updated
47 min: Rojo, who has had a very good game, loses the run of himself and thwacks one way over from around 40 yards before trotting back to familiar climes. Interestingly, he has puckered lips and a look on his face that suggests he thought that was really close.
Updated
The second half!
45 min: Peep! Keane punts the ball forwards and we’re under way. United regain possession and knock it around patiently at the back happily building up a healthy lead in the possession stats before Mata picks the ball up on the edge of the box and drives powerfully at goal. Pickford tips it over.
Mourinho has just posed for a selfie with an Everton fan looking about as miserable as you’d expect. Maybe it was a protest against selfies. Or maybe not. Who knows? Who, indeed, cares?
Tom Davies love-in section
Some praise for Everton’s Ketwig Kaiser (Ketwig explainer here):
You're right about Tom Davies's box-to-boxiness @GreggBakowski. Of course, many will scoff at the comparison, but he reminds me of Roy Keane in his coltish youth. Whether he'll turn out to be that good - well, there's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) January 1, 2018
@GreggBakowski with England crying out for dynamism in central midfield and Southgate happy to experiment and give fresh faces a chance, I'm surprised Davies hasn't been mentioned as a dark horse for the summer. He's better than Livermore at the very least.
— Matthew Loten (@intheinaka) January 1, 2018
“Hi Gregg,” writes Donal Moloney. “If you’ll allow frontwomen, then Sam is Bonnie Tyler and José is Tina Turner. Look inside your heart. You know it’s true.” And yes, of course, I should have said lead warblers.
Half-time: Everton 0-0 Manchester United
And that’s that. Everton played better than they have in the past couple of games from an attacking point of view (which isn’t saying much) but still lack presence up front. And United looked a little disjointed but you feel that if they do click they’re more than good enough to win this.
44 min: It’s been a bit scrappy in the past few minutes, with both sides giving away possession and showing a lack of quality and care. Jones Phil Jones’s Niasse near the left touchline when he had no need to and gives away a free-kick. It’s a free-kick that is wasted by Everton.
Updated
42 min: Rooney takes one for the team. Martial was racing forwards and Rooney slid in and raised his leg to make sure he brought his former team-mate down. That was a promising break and Rooney knew it.yellow card.
40 min: Pogba strides forwards on the left and cuts inside before laying the ball off to Herrera, who sidefoots unconvincingly at goal only to see his effort blocked. Jones does well under pressure to find De Gea and receive a disguised pass back off his goalkeeper when under intense pressure from Niasse and then United fly forwards and Lingard fires wide from 15 yards. Lively this, but just lacking in quality when it matters.
Updated
38 min: … with Bolasie, who absolutely rinses Rojo before floating a cross towards the back of the penalty area that United clear. It’s been a racy five minutes.
37 min: Pogba’s had enough of this. He takes a touch in midfield and tries to curl one in from 30 yards. It takes a touch off Davies and flies past Pickford’s outstretched hand and out for a corner. Everton clear the corner and break …
35 min: Bolasie tickles a right-footed pass in behind Lindelof for Davies, who motors in behind him and watches his attempted shot get deflected up and over De Gea. For a moment it looks like it may be dropping in and De Gea looks worried. But it drops wide and trickles away from goal. Davies doesn’t half get around the pitch. He’s everywhere.
33 min: Williams makes a dog’s dinner of a simple clearance and invites Herrera to have a go from distance. The Spaniard cocks his left foot but fires it a foot over.
32 min: Rooney is doing a very good job orchestrating Everton’s attacking moves from midfield. He has Davies to do his leg work for him and Bolasie constantly moving ahead. So, in that respect, he has some of the right ingredients to help him create.
Updated
30 min: Bolasie beats Lindelof for pace on the left wing and curls a cross in that United clear. Considering how long Bolasie has been out for, he looks as quick as ever. On the subject of managers as front men:
@GreggBakowski Oh come on, you know that Big Sam attends most fancy dress dos in Las Vegas Elvis gear? He has a selection of outfits with rhinestones and mega-lapels and belts. I'd love to see him on the touchline in one.
— William Hargreaves (@billhargreaves) January 1, 2018
28 min: Shaw plays Martial in down the inside-left channel. He looks up and fires a low cross into teh box that Pickford stretches to palm away. It could fall to anyone. Thankfully, for Everton fans it lands at Martina’s feet. Wallop! He clears. Pogba and Lingard were licking their lips in the box.
26 min: Manchester United pick up the pace of their passing and cut through the Everton midfield but find a packed defence too difficult to get through. That was brighter though.
25 min: That led to a corner. A corner that came to nothing.
23 min: Rojo makes a wonderful sliding block to stop Niasse shooting from seven yards and most likely giving Everton the lead. It all stemmed from a loose pass in midfield by Matic. Rooney picked up possession and worked the ball forwards, combining with Vlasic before Niasse wriggled through on goal and shot with his left foot only for Rojo to slide in from another postcode and snuff out the danger.
21 min: Herrera has a busy couple of minutes, first finding Martial with an incisive pass from midfield that the forward miscontrols, and then fouling Davies, who went on a brave run through midfield to get himself out of trouble. I like Davies. He plays that a wily old pro despite being about 12 years old.
20 min: Pogba and Vlasic have a tussle in the corner and the Manchester United captain is adjudged to have fouled the Everton midfielder. He’s the one United player who has looked on his game. Too many others in red are hiding.
17 min: Davies tries to curls one towards the far corner but it deflects off Jones and out for another corner. United clear but Vlasic collects and just as he attempts to let fly, Lingard gets a touch and makes the Everton player hoof the ball up and over like a park player.
15 min: “I can see Meat Loaf,” writes Peter Oh, “but I doubt that Sam Allardyce would appreciate being compared to a foreign frontman. Mourinho as Morrissey is also intriguing, but can you imagine José ever opening a press conference comment with ‘Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before’?” No Peter, but I can imagine him crooning this:
13 min: A warning for Everton as Pogba produces a moment of individual brilliance on the left, popping a couple of passes in and out of team-mates before bursting into the box and pulling the ball back to Herrera, who turns his nose up at the chance to shoot and, curiously, dummies to nobody. Everton clear but what a chance that was.
12 min: Everton are pressing high up. I don’t think I’ve seen an Allardyce team do that in quite some time.
10 min: This has been a reasonably promising start by Everton. They win a corner. Rooney whips it in towards the near post and Manchester United clear. Everton certainly look fresher. The seven changes must have helped in that regard. United, who made only three changes, look a little more leggy.
8 min: Well, that was poor. He belts it over everyone and the ball drifts away for Rojo to pick up. It does look windy at Goodison. Maybe it was caught by a strong gust coming off the Mersey.
7 min: Shaw is a touch late on Holgate and Everton win a free-kick out towards the right touchline. Rooney to take it.
6 min: Everton have settled on the ball a little now. They’re trying to play out from the back in a way that they haven’t always since Allardyce was appointed.
4 min: Mata picks up possession and tries to squeeze a pass through to Martial but he’s crowded out by a collection of blue shirts. Everton are looking for Bolasie on the break at every opportunity. He runs at a crowd of players and the ball squirts free and Everton regain possession. A moment later Rooney has a crack from 20 yards that is deflected out for a corner. You could almost hear the intake of breath from Everton’s fans as that sat up for him.
Updated
2 min: Bolasie stretches his legs down the left and drifts a cross in that De Gea takes comfortably. And up the other end, Lingard is a yard away from a ball poked through behind the defence from midfield but Pickford is out to collect sharply. A lively start.
Peep!
1 min: Off we go! Manchester United get us under way. They’re in red shirts and black shorts and are shooting from left to right on my screen. Everton in royal blue, are going the other way.
Updated
The floodlights are shining bright at Goodison Park and the sound of the opening bars of Z-Cars means the teams are emerging from the tunnel. Wayne Rooney leads Everton out alongside Paul Pogba, Manchester United’s captain for the day. Everton are wearing shirts with Kits for Africa replacing the usual sponsor. You can read more on that initiative here.
Here’s Sam Allardyce on why he has made seven changes: “Tired legs. I’ve played the same team since I’ve been here so it’s for reasons of fatigue. We’ve taken a calculated risk today without knowing the players that well.”
And José Mourinho has his say: “We have no No9 but the spirit is good and the team are playing well without getting the results.”
Updated
Gary Naylor’s back on the theme of these managers as front men:
@GreggBakowski Big Sam is, I venture, Buster Bloodvessel - searching for that special brew from his imbalanced squad. Mourinho is 70s Brian Wilson - once truly great, but the regular nervous breakdowns are just making everything a little too high maintenance,
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) January 1, 2018
Liverpool’s late, late 2-1 win at Burnley has brought them level on points with Manchester United but they trail on goal difference so remain fourth. The battle between the teams fighting to finish in the top four is heating up. Spurs can close the gap to one point if they win their two games in hand and Arsenal can move within three points of United if – and it’s a big if – they beat Chelsea at home in two days’ time.
Updated
Hubert O’Hearn is back: “Yeah, you nailed it with Meat Loaf. José though is Phil Collins. Why Phil Collins you ask? Well, his most famous album was Hello, I Must Be Going which rather summarises his managerial career.”
If these managers were front men, who would they be? Sam Allardyce as Steven Tyler from Aerosmith? José Mourinho as Morrissey?
@GreggBakowski Big Sam as the nimble, whippet-slim Steven Tyler? In Sam's dreams maybe. I see him more as AC/DC's Brian Johnson, an old-school belter. As for Jose? Maybe Brian Ferry, though he'd never be a ferry cross the Mersey.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) January 1, 2018
Yeah, what was I thinking? Meat Loaf?
Allardyce would be Meatloaf @GreggBakowski - Mourinho would be all of Kraftwerk
— Michael Adams (@mymojoisrising) January 1, 2018
Updated
There have been some cracking encounters between these two down the years. Here’s Scott Murray to take you down memory lane in a way that only he can.
Updated
Gary Naylor reckons Sam Allardyce has released the handbrake and revved his engine for this one:
I think Big Sam has rolled the dice here @GreggBakowski. Vlasic, Rooney, Bolasie, Niasse (the "Not So Fab Four") show plenty of go forward intent. If he wins, he'll have to get some credit from the naysayers: and if he loses, not many of his supporters (like me) will turn on him.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) January 1, 2018
Team news
Everton: Pickford, Holgate, Keane, Williams, Martina, Schneiderlin, Davies, Vlasic, Rooney, Bolasie, Niasse. Subs: Jagielka, Lennon, McCarthy, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin, Robles, Kenny.
Man Utd: De Gea, Lindelof, Jones, Rojo, Shaw, Ander Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Mata, Martial, Lingard. Subs: Smalling, Blind, Rashford, Romero, Mkhitaryan, Darmian, Tuanzebe.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Seven changes for Everton, with Rooney as captain and Bolasie starts when he had been a doubt. Just the three changes for United, with Martial coming in up front, Herrera in midfield and Rojo at the back for Young. Pogba is captain.
Updated
Preamble
Evening. It’s hard to imagine this ending with the same 4-0 scoreline as the match at Old Trafford in September. Back then, Everton were a flaky mess who shipped 12 goals without reply in four games and Manchester United were scoring freely and overpowering teams, even when they weren’t fluid. Since Sam Allardyce’s appointment at Goodison, Everton have been much more resilient. Their 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth ended an eight-game unbeaten run but they are still more than capable of frustrating a United team who have lost their spark and drawn their last three games.
José Mourinho is without Romelu Lukaku for the next two games following the head injury he sustained in the goalless draw with Southampton, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a knee injury and Ashley Young is suspended for three-matches too. Here’s Mourinho: “I feel unlucky, yes. But unlucky in football? You have to change, which is what we try to do. When I speak about three penalties in matches where a penalty and a possible goal makes a huge difference, I want to say unlucky because it is what I feel. I could be here with a biased theory, which I am not going [to do] at all. The boys are trying, but we have lots of problems in the team and we lost Lukaku and Ibrahimovic for a month. We have difficulty to rotate players. Now we have to cope with Everton and Derby County and, after that, we have an open space of nine or 10 days before Stoke City.”
Allardyce is desperate to bring in some Everton attacking reinforcements but he says Wayne Rooney has recovered from a virus and is available to face his former club. Allardyce also wants a reaction after the defeat at Bournemouth: “We’ve gone and lost against Bournemouth, which puts on more pressure to make it up somewhere and it may have to be against a bigger club. We have to pick ourselves up and look forward to Man Utd and Liverpool.” United should still have enough to win this game but you could have said the same before they drew with Leicester, Burnley and Southampton. Allardyce would happily take a point. Another 0-0? Buckle up folks.
Some pre-match reading about a good egg:
Updated
