Read Jamie Jackson’s match report:
Everton’s manager is NOT happy:
Jonathan Wilson on why Martial could be a snip at £36m:
And with that, I’m gone. I leave you with the words of Marco Silva, who is not happy about the United penalty: “In that moment there’s just one decision: a yellow card for diving.”
Like we expected it was a tough match. But like I promised we came here to play, to win the match. It’s our way, the only way we’re working so far. And when the game is really balanced, the first 20, 25 minutes, their decisions started to make them comfortable in the match. Every time we had the ball we created some problems for them as well, and the game is really balanced. In that moment, for me it’s no penalty, clear. It’s a difficult sensation for us because when you come here to play a strong side and one moment like that starts to make the game easy for our opponent.
We take more risks in the second half. They scored a fantastic goal, but we had a very good chance to score. Then we scored our penalty – that penalty is clear, not like the first – and we had other chances. I think we deserved a different result this afternoon.
It looks like my player touched the ball. I think it’s not a tough decision. I respect the referee, but the feeling and sensation is not good. The player dived in that moment. He’s a fantastic player, scored a fantastic goal, but in that moment there’s just one decision: a yellow card for diving. One thing is clear, it wasn’t a penalty. In that moment the game’s really balanced.
I don’t want to put all the excuse on the referee’s decision, because when you play against Manchester United in their stadium and you create five, six clear chances to score and you don’t score, it’s not because of the referee. I think we should do better in some situations.
Right then. Bye!
Updated
And here’s José Mourinho. The most interesting bit is towards the end, where he defends his treatment of youn players and says that it brings success “if they don’t give up, and if they don’t have an entourage that supports their weaknesses”:
I’m happy again. I think it’s a game where we don’t need to suffer as much as we did in the last minutes. We had the game in control, even at 2-1. We had more chances to score a third than they had to score a second. But no, last ball of the game is a corner and anything can happen. I think we played well, in some periods we played very well, and then when we had to suffer, to fight, to give everything to keep the three points the players were also able to do it.
And on the penalty:
To speak about the penalty is also to speak about the ref. I thought he did it very well, in all the game. I thought he was very solid, very consistent, and the two penalty actions he’s consistent with his decisions. I think Moss was really, really good. The technique? He’s a better penalty taker than myself, and he has, let me choose the words, he has the courage to take, like for example today, Molivojevic, he missed one last week and today he takes one and takes another one. I always admire the players who have the courage. I don’t like the players who refuse to take. Pogba wants to take and I’m happy with that. Maybe he has to take his approach, but I don’t want him to change his mental approach. And this boy [Pickford] is a good penalty saver. He showed that in the World Cup. The kid is a good penalty saver, so let’s give also some credit to the keeper.
On what has changed of late for Anthony Martial:
I think everything. He has the same talent, the same natural talent he had one year ago, but he’s improving his way of thinking football, thinking training too, and thinking his role in the team. So I’m really, really happy with him, with Luke Shaw, with boys who are improving, and difficult periods for them, difficult periods for myself because I want more for them and I took them to the limit, but at the moment Anthony is able to do things that he was not able to do before. So I’m really happy with Anthony.
Everton is not on paper a candidate for the top four, but look to the potential and you don’t see many differences. They are a team capable to come here and fight in the way they did. Every game is difficult. In terms of my approach to my young players, that’s the way I am and I think in the end you have the rewards of that hard work with the players – if they don’t give up, and if they don’t have an entourage that supports their weaknesses, and they support to role of the coaches in their development, they will reach their destination. Luke [Shaw] was strong, and Anthony is coming into a different stage in his development.
Jordan Pickford has a word:
I think they created chances, we created chances. They got a penalty which was a bit soft, I would say. But when you come to Old Trafford you know what atmosphere you’re going to get. When we went 2-0 down we showed our character as a team. We’ve created enough chances, it’s just whether you take them or not.
He’s asked about Paul Pogba’s penalty, and the run-up:
I know his little trick, what he does. That’s how I saved it. You know he’s got that power, so you know you’ve got to go a tad early, because if he wants he’s going to hit top bins. I went early and got a top hand, but unfortunately it bounced back to him. I literally went as he’s on his final step. It was one of them. Unfortunately I didn’t get enough power on the save to get it away, and it went straight to him.
And on United’s second goal, where Theo Walcott gave the ball away (and then ran back extremely half-heartedly, when with a little bit more effort he might have cut out the pass to Martial):
I though I’ve hit a decent ball, and his first touch was just a bit unfortunate. Luke Shaw’s just got there and it came from that. I said, take a better touch maybe. It is what it is. We nearly got something at the end. I came up for the corner but it wasn’t to be.
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report from Old Trafford:
This was Manchester United’s best display so far this season and a second win in eight matches was much needed. While there was another concerning error from Paul Pogba, which led to Everton’s consolation, there were further spells of the quick and slick play United are showing more of as the season enters autumn.
More here:
Paul Pogba, scorer of the first goal, and Anthony Martial, scorer of the second and man of the match, talk to Sky. First, here’s Pogba:
We needed to win. We needed points. I think against Chelsea we should have won, and a last-minute goal. Obviously we missed two points and today we needed to win. The victory was very important for us.
Today I was lucky [with the penalty]. But the most important is the ball went in and I scored the goal. It was good for us, it was good for me. We had other chances. The most important was the win today.
[On his run-up] I always try to destabilise the goalkeeper. I always shoot like this and that’s how I know how to take penalties. I’ll maybe practice to change it, because maybe goalkeepers are starting to read it.
[And on giving the ball away in the build-up to Everton’s penalty] I don’t like to kick the ball, but sometimes you have to clear the ball. I always try to play and find the solution, because I think we have the ability to play but sometimes it’s true I need to clear the ball and just push up the team.
Last three games, Chelsea, Juventus and this game, except the Champions League game when we should have done better, in the Premier League we’ve done well. We have to keep it up like this.
And Martial says (brace yourself):
I’m happy. I’m in good form in this moment. I have to train hard and continue to help the team.
United and Everton swap places in the table, with the Reds up to eighth and the Blues down to ninth.
Final score: Manchester United 2-1 Everton
90+7 mins: And that’s it! United hold on to claim the win!
Updated
90+7 mins: The corner is rubbish, it’s cleared to the edge of the area and Lookman thunders a left-foot shot high!
90+6 mins: Digne’s cross is deflected behind. Everton have a corner, with seconds left. Up comes Pickford!
90+5 mins: Fred goes off, and Lingard comes on.
90+4 mins: What a chance to seal it! Everton are caught on the half-way line and Martial has half the pitch to himself when he’s played through. He runs into the area, waits for Pickford to commit himself and tries to lift the ball over him – but the keeper makes the save!
Updated
90+2 mins: United haven’t handled this with great assurance, and have barely held possession for more than a few seconds in these last few minutes. Everton though can’t find a way through. A cross from deep on the left is headed wide by Calvert-Lewin.
90+1 mins: Into stoppage time, and there will be six minutes of it! The Everton fans roar with gratitude.
89 mins: Fred is down with cramp, and the physio has been summoned.
88 mins: Pogba’s deflected shot flies helpfully straight to Pickford.
87 mins: Everton’s goal threat hasn’t really increased since the arrival of two fresh forwards. They’ve got more people in their attack, but don’t seem to be sure what to do with them.
85 mins: United take off Mata and bring on Herrera.
84 mins: Incidentally, how Smalling avoided a second yellow card for the foul that led to Everton’s penalty is beyond me. It was absolutely and indisputably a bookable offence.
83 mins: The ball is lifted into the area, where Richarlison controls it but then, with the ball bouncing uncomfortably, shoots high and wide.
82 mins: Pogba’s cross from the right is just fractionally too high for Lukaku, who gets insufficient contact on his header, which bounces wide.
79 mins: It looks like Smalling didn’t just damage his team when he made that challenge, he also damaged himself. He’s now limping off.
Gylfi Sigurdsson becomes the 2nd visiting player, after Darren Bent, to score a PL goal at Old Trafford in 4 different matches.#MUNEVE
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) October 28, 2018
78 mins: A double change for Everton – Calvert-Lewin and Tosun are both on, Walcott and Gueye are both off.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 Everton (Sigurdsson, 77 mins)
Sigurdsson hits into the top right corner, with De Gea going low the other way!
Updated
Everton have a penalty!
76 mins: Pogba is robbed in midfield, Sigurdsson slides in Richarlison and Smalling hilariously takes him out with a wild sliding tackle!
Updated
75 mins: With Everton forced to commit greater numbers to attack and United attacking brightly whenever they have a chance, this match is in an excellent place at the moment.
72 mins: Richarlison’s excellent pass finds Coleman bursting into the box, but his shot clears the bar!
71 mins: Lukaku sends Martial running down the left, and his pass finds Fred whose shot, from a good 25 yards, deflects wide.
69 mins: A lovely period of rat-a-tat passes for United ends with Young’s cross being deflected out for a corner.
66 mins: At the other end, Coleman crosses from the right and Gomes, having played the ball wide for the right-back, heads limply at De Gea.
66 mins: Lukaku’s first job is to run on to a hopeful long ball. He does well to hook it back from the by-line but none of his team-mates expected him to do so, so nobody profits from his efforts.
65 mins: Manchester United take off Rashford, and bring on Romelu Lukaku.
64 mins: The atmosphere has turned febrile in the last few minutes, thanks partly to Pogba. Coleman wins a free kick for Everton on the right flank.
63 mins: Pogba backs into Gomes, who pushes him in the back. The Frenchman goes down and feigns serious injury, forcing Everton to kick the ball out of play. Everton’s fans boo furiously both then and when the Frenchman promptly stood up.
62 mins: Bernard, author of the miss of the match, is the one to go off.
60 mins: Lookman looks to be getting ready to come on for Everton, for whom only Richarlison is causing the home defence regular headaches.
57 mins: And another chance for the home side! Martial picks out Pogba, whose first touch is excellent, and whose second sends the ball arrowing low and hard towards the near post, where Pickford saves!
54 mins: Now Rashford is played through, but his first touch takes him wide and his shot hits Pickford’s foot!
51 mins: What a miss from Bernard! Incredible scenes! He’s played in by Richarlison, with Walcott free to his right. Instead of giving his team-mate a tap-in he jinks to his left and goes past De Gea, opening up the goal but giving him a less helpful angle, and his shot hits the side netting!
Updated
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Everton (Martial, 49 mins)
That’s a wonderful goal! Pogba picks it up 25 yards out, hints at a shot and then passes to Martial to his left, whose first-time shot from the 18-yard line curls past Pickford and in at the far post!
Updated
48 mins: Pogba turns nicely inside the penalty area and jinks his way goalwards, past Coleman and Sigurdsson, but the ball bobbles through to Pickford.
47 mins: Richarlison runs to the edge of the area and curls a shot towards the near post, which De Gea anticipates and saves well.
46 mins: More action!
The players are back out and ready for more action!
Everton have had a couple of chances, and with Richarlison and Walcott they have enough pace to trouble United’s defence. They could do with sending their efforts on goal somewhere other than straight at De Gea, mind.
Half time: Manchester United 1-0 Everton
45+3 mins: And that is half-time. United have been the better side and deservedly lead, though if the referee had x-ray vision and slow-motion eyes he probably wouldn’t have given them their penalty.
Updated
45+1 mins: Walcott has a shot from an absurdly unlikely angle, with two team-mates much better placed to his left. It’s at De Gea, who turns it behind, and nothing comes from the corner.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time, of which there will be some two minutes.
44 mins: Walcott cuts in from the right and then scuffs a low shot at De Gea from 20 yards.
43 mins: Matic is booked for a 15-yard long-term slow-motion foul on Sigurdsson.
41 mins: And here’s the crucial view of the penalty incident:
Gueye wins the ball and a penalty is given 🤔 pic.twitter.com/JbKyIUMCgI
— Tony Scott (@Tony_Scott11) October 28, 2018
40 mins: That run-up in full:
That run up...
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 28, 2018
Pickford makes a wonderful save to deny Pogba, but the rebound falls to the him and he slots it home to put #MUFC ahead!
Follow live updates and in-game clips as @ManUtd host @Everton on Super Sunday live on Sky Sports Premier League here: https://t.co/BE6WEluenj pic.twitter.com/wUCy6bVBcc
38 mins: Chance for Everton! Coleman crosses from the right, and Sigurdsson, from a couple of yards inside the area, heads at De Gea.
36 mins: Young’s sliding challenge on Digne is an absolute beauty. He absolutely screams into the ball, leaving the Frenchman, who had no idea that a challenge was coming, on the ground and utterly bewildered. The ball ended up out of play, so United didn’t really benefit, but that was great.
Updated
35 mins: Fred leathers a shot well wide. “Pogba’s penalty sums up why he annoys the hell out of me,” rages Kevin Wilson. “He can’t just do what is simple and belt it into a corner. He has to humiliate his opponent. It’s the same when he gets the ball anywhere on the pitch. He has to chump a couple of players even where there is no advantage in doing so. He is the worst kind of show pony.”
35 mins: Everything for Manchester United is coming down the left, where Martial is proving an absolute nightmare for Everton’s defence.
34 mins: Pogba does well to get to the byline on the left, and his low cross is cleared for a corner.
30 mins: United have the ball in the net again, but it’s offside! Martial runs onto Pogba’s delicious pass and carries the ball into the area before playing back to Pogba, whose left-foot shot is saved by Pickford. This time the ball rolls straight to Rashford, but he was miles offside.
29 mins: Actually, replays from the other side of the pitch show that Gueye did get a toe to the ball. A good tackle, cunningly and convincingly disguised as a rubbish one.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Everton (Pogba, 27 mins)
Paul Pogba takes a ludicrously slow-motion run-up, but his kick is too close to the middle and Pickford, on his way down, flings up his left hand to brilliantly save! The ball rebounds straight back to Pogba, though, and he taps into the empty half of the net.
Updated
27 mins: It was a penalty as well, Gueye flinging out a leg in the hope of catching the ball, but only getting in the way of the player.
Updated
Manchester United have a penalty!
26 mins: Martial goes down over Gueye’s leg inside the penalty area, and the referee points to the spot!
23 mins: Save! Martial’s drive from the edge of the area presents Pickford with a fairly routine save, but the shot is much too hard to hold. Corner.
Updated
22 mins: Another booking, this for an Everton player, after Gueye deliberately blocks Fred.
20 mins: Smalling goes straight through the back of Richarlison, taking him out ankle first, and gets booked for it.
19 mins: Chance for United! Martial crosses from the left and Mata, entirely unmarked a couple of yards goalside of the penalty spot, heads straight at Pickford.
17 mins: Manchester United work the ball around nicely, though unthreateningly.
14 mins: Everton win a corner, and Gomes powers a header straight at De Gea.
14 mins: At the other end, Rashford tries to tee up Martial with a lovely backheel inside the penalty area, but sadly Martial was about 15 yards away at the time.
12 mins: Richarlison tries to play in Walcott, but his pass is overhit and a defender gets there first.
10 mins: The day’s key statistic:
According to Opta, this is the first top-flight English football match involving a Bernard and Fred since a 2-2 draw between Burnley & Preston in February 1953.
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) October 28, 2018
7 mins: Lindelof gives the ball away inside the centre circle, and a few moments later Sigurdsson crosses and Bernard, stretching, just fails to get on the end of it. He succeeds, however, in getting on the ankle of Ashley Young, who after a few moments gingerly gets up.
Updated
5 mins: Bernard lifts a cross to the far post, where Richarlison falls over a little too easily and Shaw heads behind.
3 mins: The first shot of the match comes from the right foot of Paul Pogba, and is so wildly off-target it goes out for an Everton throw-in.
2 min: In the stands at Old Trafford today is the Thai football team rescued from a cave earlier this year.
Old Trafford gives an ovation to the Thai football team rescued from flooded caves earlier this year #MUFC pic.twitter.com/eZjtjaXwqv
— David Charlesworth (@charlie_4444) October 28, 2018
1 min: Peeeeeep! It’s now time for action, and Manchester United start it.
Preamble complete, it’s now time for action. Well, very nearly.
The game will be preceded by a minute’s silence, both as Old Trafford’s final match before Remembrance Sunday and also in solidarity with Leicester after last night’s helicopter crash.
Updated
The players are out of the tunnel!
Lukaku has played every minute of the last 11 Manchester United games in league and Europe, scoring four times. But his travails in front of goal are probably a symptom of United’s attacking problems, rather than the cause of them.
Here’s José Mourinho on Romelu Lukaku:
The reason is that he’s playing lots of matches and lately, not just not scoring goals but fundamentally not showing lots of confidence. And sometimes we decide that the best thing for the player is not to be on the pitch, is to be protected. If later he comes into the game, probably he can come with a positive feeling of trying to make a difference, and be back to normality. Because normality with Romelu is to score lots of goals, and he’s a bit under pressure because he’s not doing that.
He’s asked if this is a big opportunity for Rashford, playing at centre-forward:
Rashford, he’s the player with more appearances for the club in the last two and a half years, so when people speak about him and opportunities, it’s just one more. Because he gets opportunities all the time.
Both those matches have now ended, with no further scoring.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, it’s Burnley 0-4 Chelsea and Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal, with both matches deep into stoppage time.
Headlines: Everton are unchanged, while Manchester United leave Romelu Lukaku on the bench against his former club.
The teams
The team sheets are in, and here are today’s line-ups:
Man Utd: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, Matic, Pogba, Mata, Rashford, Martial. Subs: Sanchez, Lukaku, Lingard, Rojo, Ander Herrera, Romero, Darmian.
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne, Andre Gomes, Gueye, Walcott, Sigurdsson, Bernard, Richarlison. Subs: Baines, Mina, Tosun, Stekelenburg, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman.
Referee: Jonathan Moss.
Today's #MUFC team news is in... #MUNEVE pic.twitter.com/gMucmB8Jlo
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 28, 2018
👕 | TEAM NEWS IS IN! #EFCawayday
— Everton (@Everton) October 28, 2018
✅ Blues unchanged
🇧🇷 @richarlison97 leads the line
🇮🇪 Coleman captains pic.twitter.com/Px4jZJeXwQ
Hello world!
Everton have won their last three league games and José Mourinho will welcome his “good friend” Marco Silva with some trepidation. Everton, though, have kist 19 and won two of their 26 Premier League games at Old Trafford, which is rubbish. “The record isn’t the best but this reflects how it’s difficult to play there, how they are a good team as well,” says Silva. “What we have to do is to be ourselves, to respect the opponent because they have enough quality to cause problems for us. But you are there as well to create problems and to compete in the game. It is our goal as a team to go there and achieve a good result.”
Well yes, I’m sure it is. But can they actually do it? That’s what we’re here to find out!
