Manchester United and Everton shared the points in Saturday’s late kick-off in the English Premier League with a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford.
TheCable takes a look at six things that stuck out like a sore thumb during the game.
Abdoulaye Doucoure was tireless
One Everton player who tirelessly bombarded Manchester United was Frenchman Abdoulaye Doucoure. He was eventually rewarded with a goal and an assist. Despite United’s dominance, he was the standout player for the Toffees.
David De Gea’s unconvincing display
The inevitable happened: the Spaniard struggled. For Everton’s first goal, De Gea didn’t cover himself in glory. He spilled a tame shot to the path of a grateful Doucoure.
Rashford not clinical enough
Marcus Rashford had a few good chances in the game but sadly for United fans, he could not convert any of them. On one occasion, he had a clear sight of the goal with absolutely no one in front of him, but he still managed to blast it high over the bar.
Had United, and Rashford in particular, taken enough of their chances in the game, the story could be different.
Rashford will surely be looking at those missed chances and wondering why he didn’t score.
United’s title hopes fading away?
The Red Devils were faced with the task of overtaking leaders Manchester City even before the game, starting the weekend three points behind the Citizen — but this draw didn’t help their quest. It is not just dropping two valuable points, but also the loss of momentum.
United went into the game against Everton as favourites but failed to justify that label.
Everton were resolute
Everton can take plenty of positives from a match in which they battled back from 2-0 down to claim a point. This was a determined all-around performance from the Toffees and it bodes well for the future.
United’s defence was shaky
We know by now that while statistics are often helpful in evaluating players and teams, in football, they cannot possibly tell the entire story.
The first goal was the result of a switch-off by David de Gea. The other two goals were silly errors at the back.
The main point is this: If you concede three goals to a team whose first-half play was at times lazier than a drowsy person, you have some serious problems.
By Remi Sulola/TheCable
