Louis van Gaal put down the same squad that battled in the Derby at Etihad stadium. Louis Van Gaal though made some tactical chances on the field where Mata and Lingard were swapped in their respective positions. The past encounters between the sides didn’t really favored Van Gaal as they had suffered 3 loses in their last 6 games against the Toffees. The spanking story for United was, they were getting their veteran players back on the bench. Ander Herrera and Ashley Young were available for United but Van Gaal decided to place Carrick instead of the Spaniard. The most tenacious task for United’s defenders were to keep hold of the Belgian striker Romelu Lukakau. They struggled a lot in the first half but eventually hacked the striker completely.
Well, it was and emotional return of Van Gaal’s childhood hero and United’s legend Sir Bobby Charlton as ‘Sir Bobby Charlton’ stand was unveiled. There were some close encounters in the cagey game where Martial was the closest one to get a breakthrough for his team. Martial, Mata and Lingard were combining really well in the first half but the major obstacle for United was to stop the long balls from Barkley to Lukaku. The Belgian on the other hand, was winning every physical battle against Smalling and Blind but was unable to put a mark on the game. He was the obvious target in the set pieces for the Toffees and out muscled almost every United player.
De Gea had to make some really great saves to keep his side in the game. The goal came in for United in the 53rd minute when the side combined well in to which the young Dutch defender Fosu Mensah played a major part and assisted martial to score his 8th premier league goal and also his 3rd in 4 games in all competition. United won by the only goal and showed real determination to score a goal this time.
David De Gea 8/10- He is playing a major role for his side to keep them alive in the competition. He is the player who is a good passer and a good distributor of the ball. Smalling and Blind were fumbling to cope win the long balls but he was aware of every threat that was coming. He also made an instinctive save to deny Phil Jagielka who fired a thunderous shot hoping to equalize the game.
Marcus Rojo 4/10- Played one of the worst game in his United career. Was lacking in pace, was unable to keep hold of his marker and was defending very poorly. He was shaky in every department. Gerard Deulofeu was taking full advantage of him and was delivering some deadly crosses in United’s box. Rojo was very loose in falling back and defending and also was unable to compete the pace of the young Spanish midfielder.
Chris Smalling 6.5/10- Played an average game. Struggled a lot in the beginning to keep hold of the Belgian but eventually got the handle on the striker and defended pleasantly.
Daley Blind 6.5/10- Just like his fellow centre-half, played an intermediate game. Showed some trickery in the game and needed some help from the midfielders quite a time. Denied a goal scoring opportunity for Everton where Lukaku had a shot and the Dutch captain was present at the right place at the right time to deflect that away.
Matteo Darmian 6.5/10- Nothing much to talk about in his game. Made some pretty good forward runs and was available back in the defence as well.
Morgan Scheiderlin 6/10- Made some pretty good tackles in the game to stop Everton’s attack. His interceptions had a great impact on the game and was matching the Evertonians in every department.
Michael Carrick 5/10- This Englishman was considered as a midfield maestro couple of seasons ago but has downgraded his performances this season. He was very sloppy in terms of possession and passing, the departments he mastered a couple of seasons back and was eventually taken off in place of Herrera.
Mata 7/10- Played a major role in United’s only goal. Received the long ball from his own half and made a silky turn to give it to Rashford who passed the ball with an amazing backheel to the Dutch Fosu Mensah and he found Martial in the gap and boom..!! He commanded the United’s midfield like a true leader.
Lingard 7/10- Played in the number 10 position this time out and performed his job quite decently. Combined well with Mata in the first half. He was working tirelessly throughout the game.
Martial 8/10- Was deployed at the left wing by Van Gaal and scored the only goal of the game. The little Frenchman was all over the field, came back defending whenever necessary and made some brilliant counter attacking runs.
Marcos Rashford 7/10- The kid has got some fancy legs. He showed great trickery against the defenders in the game and played a major part in United’s victory of necessity.
Fosu Mensah 7/10- Combined well with United’s midfield to assist Martial his 8th goal of the season. Also made a heroic save for the side in his own box. The boy completely changed the course of the game by bringing some pace and heat.
Ander Herrera- 6.5/10- A great tackler and a great interceptor of the ball is what this Spaniard is. Came on to replace Carrick and delivered an awesome performance in the final few minutes.