Strong United Response

Once again, the team rose to the challenge when the chips were down. Once again, when the manager, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s job was on the line, the team delivered to keep him in the job. This just begs the question, why don’t they perform like that all the time? Or at least most of the time. If adversity brings the best out of this squad, why don’t the coaching staff create us against the world mentality in the dressing room? Keep the players on their toes in the dressing room even when the pressure is off the team and the manager.

The Performance

This performance was similar to the one the team produced against Newcastle United at St. James’s Park. We conceded with our first shot on goal and responded very well showing great character and quality in our play. Throughout the game, I felt we were aggressive, getting stuck into tackles and determined to be first to the ball. Overall, it was a hard-fought match with both teams not shy of getting stuck in and taking the game to the opposition.

McTominay & Fred

The influence of Scott McTominay and Fred on this team cannot be under-estimated. They are not glamorous or fanciful players but they make this team tick. They give the team the base on which to build attacks. On that note, I felt we should have done better going forward against Chelsea and Arsenal with both players in the team. Today they were both sharp, fresh and tigerish and played an immense part in our victory.

Maguire & Lindelof

At the heart of our defence, I felt Harry Maguire produced a top performance. In the second half when Everton had more of the possession and was on the front foot, he was immense in clearing balls in the air and nipping in front to win the ball.

Victor Lindelof has been playing well but Dominic Calvert-Lewin had the beating of him in the air.  Solksjaer pointed out to coaching he is receiving from Duncan Ferguson and there can’t be a better coach for him when it comes to winning the ball in the air. For all of Everton’s pressure and urgency in the second half, the only shot they mustered on goal was the goal they scored so we did well to keep them at bay.

Bruno

Bruno Fernandes was the best player on the pitch. He was everywhere; tracking back, tackling and then going forward to make the difference. He was involved in all the goals we scored. I was impressed me the most by his comments post-match. He spoke like a true leader and you can’t help feeling that this man should be our captain. But it’s tough to imagine how Harry Maguire would lose his captaincy or the club’s management reassigning captaincy. Captain or not, we need leaders like him to stand up and we need more characters like him if we are to succeed again.

Finding The Consistency Is Key

True to the pattern displayed this season, we produced a very good performance to beat Everton after a couple of bad results and performances. However, the biggest question mark is can this team achieve consistency? That is what the team needs to achieve, anything less is not good enough for a club of the stature of Manchester United.  They have shown they can play very well on their day and beat anyone. We need to do it every game now especially in the bread and butter matches against the smaller teams or when the team is favoured to win a big match. To illustrate our lack of consistency, let me end by sharing this statistic. This season we have produced our best away form since 1993 and worst home form since 1972.