Manchester United’s attempt to claim a third consecutive Premier League win for the first time since January foundered on a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.
After the high-octane victories over Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side were sloppy and profligate. Everton came to be dogged and Duncan Ferguson’s team would have won but for a cool-eyed finish by 18-year-old Mason Greenwood in the 77th minute.
This was the 4,000th consecutive game in which United have named an academy player in their match-day squad so it was apt that the graduate Greenwood salvaged a point.
Referring to the young striker. Solskjær said: “Mason Greenwood is different class in and around the box. You’re not surprised when he scores goals. It’s fitting that it should be an academy player that scores in the 4,000th match and it makes it hard for me to leave him out. We’ve always had the DNA, with added players from other top clubs, and that will always be the philosophy here.”
Harry Maguire also enthused about the boy from Bradford. “He is a goalscorer. He is going to score a lot of goals for this club,” said United’s captain. “He is a great player.”
The draw means that, after the team’s final league game before the year anniversary of Solskjær’s appointment as interim manager, United have one less point than the 26 accrued by his predecessor José Mourinho after the same number – 17 – of games. Yet United are four points closer to Chelsea in fourth place than the 13 they were adrift of a Champions League berth under the Portuguese.
Solskjær named the XI triumphant in the Manchester derby, while Ferguson’s side showed four changes. Yerry Mina, Bernard, Seamus Coleman and Tom Davies came in for Theo Walcott, Morgan Schneiderlin, Djibril Sidibé and Gylfi Sigurdsson, none of whom was on the bench.
United’s wins over City and Spurs featured bright starts and there was another here: from the kick-off Marcus Rashford flicked on, Anthony Martial continued the move and, when Fred dribbled in Everton’s area, the ball broke for Jesse Lingard, who should not have missed from seven yards.
Everton’s response was instant: a Mason Holgate cross-shot had to be tipped over by David de Gea before Lucas Digne took the first of two corners that were defended shakily, a foretaste of the weakness that would cost United later in the half.
Before this United should have scored at least twice. First Victor Lindelöf’s diagonal pass was trapped expertly by Rashford but his left-foot shot was wild. Then Daniel James moved in from the right but his effort flashed wide of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Everton’s 4-4-2 formation was predicated on a basic approach: Mina or one of his defensive colleagues would take the ball and punt it forward in hope. United’s was the silkier play.
The two styles were akin to a tractor going up against a Jaguar F-type. But United’s attempts to find a higher gear were to no avail. When Rashford fired in a dipping 25-yard free-kick Pickford had to scramble to punch clear and from that point Everton took charge.
In one passage of play Everton strung several passes together and this eventually led to their goal when Luke Shaw failed to clear and they won a corner. Leighton Baines delivered from the right, De Gea, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Mina in attendance, flapped and the loose ball rebounded limply off Lindelöf into the net.
VAR ruled the goal legal but Solskjær was unhappy at the decision. “You shouldn’t concede goals like this at set plays,” he said. “But it’s a clear and obvious foul. There’s no point me complaining but his [Calvert-Lewin’s] arms are over David’s shoulders as he was going to punch it.”
Maguire agreed. “It was a clear foul,” said the centre-back. “People will say David de Gea has to be stronger but it is a clear foul. He jumps in on him and David was impeded.”
Solskjær’s half-time talk surely consisted of some stern words and a reminder to be patient and play through Everton.
Soon after the restart Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross was headed out by Holgate into Fred’s path but he blazed over. So, too, did Rashford when hoping to beat Pickford from 20 yards.
Everton continued to disrupt the rhythm United hoped to establish. But Shaw showed United the way with a darting run that finished with Pickford saving his shot and James’s follow-up cannoning off Lingard’s face.
Lingard was replaced soon after by Greenwood in what became a 4-2-4 formation when United attacked. James had a shot saved and Lindelöf went close. Greenwood won a corner but Fred – again – made a hash of it as the team continued to lack incisiveness in front of goal.
It took Greenwood to show them how. His calm touch and finish from outside the area beat Pickford superbly. Yet United still struggled for any real control and were as vulnerable as their visitors when being attacked.
A draw felt the fair result and it delighted Ferguson, who brushed off replacing the substitute Moise Kean – who had come on for Bernard – after only 19 minutes as a time-wasting move at the end.
“What a shift the boys put in,” said the caretaker manager. “We tried to change the shape a bit [towards the end] but couldn’t get the information on. But they were fantastic to a man. I’m delighted because we got a point. We were winning but I can’t complain. United came on strong in the second half. We were good on the counterattack but the boys were amazing.”
