Anthony Martial scored the only goal of the game in the second half, thus notching up the 1000th Premier League goal at Old Trafford, on a day that also celebrated Sir Bobby Charlton’s association with the club, as Manchester United ran out 1-0 winners over Everton.
First Half
There was a heartwarming tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton before the game kicked off, as Manchester United celebrated the 60th anniversary of the legend’s association with the club by renaming the stand opposite the Sir Alex Ferguson stand as the ‘Sir Bobby Charlton Stand’, with Old Trafford being dressed up with a magnificent mosaic
The pageantry before the game was unfortunately not mirrored when the action on the football pitch started, as both sides struggled to stitch together a clear move, with the defences reigning supreme.
The 17th minute brought some respite, however, as Anthony Martial worked his way to the right edge of the goal and got a wonderfully swerving shot off despite being surrounded by Everton defenders, although his effort flew narrowly wide of Joel Robles’ goal, aided by a slight nick from Leighton Baines.
John Stones was marshalling Marcus Rashford well, with Lukaku having a contest of his own with Daley Blind. However, on the 26th minute, Lukaku spun off Blind, dummying a forward pass and looked set to run clear on goal. David de Gea came to United’s rescue yet again, rushing off his goaline to clear the ball outside his penalty box.
As the half wore on, with Gerard Deulofeu making merry down the right wing, there wasn’t much else on offer, although Manchester United had a penalty appeal on the 35th minute, as Saemus Coleman took both balland man in tackling Marcus Rojo, but the referee waved the appeals away, and then later blew the whistle to end a dreary first half.
Second Half
With Sir Bobby Charlton in attendance, such a momentous occasion required much more than the drab fare that was on offer, and Anthony Martial came to the fore, just like many times this season, scoring the opener in the 53rd minute.
The Frenchman ought to have been grateful to his teammates, as Marcus Rashford and half-time substitute Timothy Fosu-Mensah combined on the right wing to send in a cross that evaded three Everton defenders and find Martial at the far post. It was a moment to remember as the Manchester United striker tapped into the goal to notch up the 1000th Premier League goal at Old Trafford.
Everton almost equalised straight after, as Phil Jagielka outmuscled Michael Carrick from a corner, and powered a free header at the crossbar with David de Gea beaten, with Louis van Gaal reacting with relief on the touchline.
Manchester United almost scored to compound Everton’s misery on the hour mark, as Martial jinked past Deulofeu on the wing and flashed the ball across goal, with Lingard stretching every sinew to divert the ball goalwards, but Stones eventually cleared after the ball came to him.
It was David de Gea’s turn to remind everyone of his powers late on, as the United keeper made an excellent reaction save to deny Phil Jagielka’s volley after Fosu-Mensah’s clearance fell straight to the Everton defender. The youngster redeemed himself late on, as he made an incredible clearance from a low cross flashed across goal by Coleman.
United held on to confirm the victory, which takes them to a single point behind Manchester City in fourth.
