PEEP! PEEP! PEEEEEEEEEEEP! FULLTIME EVERTON 0-2 MANCHESTER UNITED
A superb second-half performance from United - with Paul Pogba taking his game to a whole different level - blew away Everton and it's a much deserved three points to end that dreary three-draw run and a great way to start 2018.
A cathartic win for United and the smile on Jose Mourinho's face tells it all.
Thank you for reading.. 'twas a pleasure. Anirudh Menon signing out, and wishing you all a happy new year once again.
88' Matic hugs Schneiderlin off the ball. This being football and not Greco-Roman wrestling, Marriner blows for a foul. Everton move forward and Holgate sends another ball into the far post area - but it's a bit too heavy. Goal kick United.
86' It's death by a thousand passes here for Everton. Till Luke Shaw sends one into the stands, Mourinho takes the opportunity to get his chocks on the field - Blind coming on for Lingard.
83' Yellow for Holgate as he gets a yellow for smashing into Lingard on the counter. It's a bad one, and Paul Pogba, captain of Manchester United, takes exception to that.
Lionel Andres Lingard uses Rashford's and Pogba's runs on either side of him before cutting in and curling an absolute stunner of a shot right into the far top corner. WHAT A GOAL. WHAT A PLAYER.
79' The corner comes to nothing, but Pogba wins a freekick off Holgate - via the Everton lad's arm. United play it short and Pogba once again tees up Lingard but this time his shot is hopeless. Rashford has another pop, but that's equally hopeless.
78' This game has burst into life all of a sudden....UFF! LINGARD! Pogba once again rips open Everton's right flank and tees up Lingard. The Englishman toe-pokes it powerfully at the corner and it takes a supremely good save from Pickford to keep it at 1-0
77' McCarthy then ends up fouling Lingard and Mourinho takes the opportunity to take off Martial and bring on Marcus Rashford. If Martial walked off any slower, he'd have gone backwards in time.
75' WOOF! IT'S GOTTEN FEISTY! McCarthy flies into Mata and wins the ball back before renowned hatchet-man Juan Mata smacks into the Irishman.... OOOH! McCarthy had a little kick-out at the Spaniard after the first of those tackles - lucky to get away with that is the Irishman.
74' Martial is bullied off the ball at the other end and is send crashing into the hoardings - the Frenchman lies there holding his elbow in pain, whole at the other end, Lennon does superbly to win a corner off Jones.
73' Everton come screaming back, Holgate bullying Pogba with ludicrous ease - and cuts the ball back into the box where McCarthy's shot is blocked. Before Vlasic's cross ends up in De Gea's gloves.
72' Everton are hassling and harrying much better now and Goodison Park has raised their collective decibel level in response. Vlasic runs at Shaw but can't get the better of him.
71' OH MAMMA MIA!!! A crunch McCarthy tackle sets Everton off and Holgate swings in a peach of a ball that is headed just wide by Niasse from six yards out. He should have done better, should Niasse.
69' Shaw plays a quick give-and-go with Lingard but Holgate does ever so well to slow him down enough to allow Pickford to race off his line and gahter.
67' Mata tries to pick out Martial from the right flank but Williams rises highest to clear. United are seeing all of the ball right now and Everton are finding it exceedingly hard to get a touch
65' OOOOOOOOO! THAT WAS SO CLOSE! Williams misplaces a ball to Lingard that starts of a counter attack that ends with Martial pinging in a fast cross from the left that just about grazes Pogba's head. A centimetre to this side, and that was 2-0
63' OH MY WORD PAUL POGBA HAS GONE ONTO ANOTHER LEVEL. He sashays into the box between two Blue shirts before a few stepovers inside the box sends Keane's head into a tizzy, and it takes some sharp reflexes from Pickford to keep him out
61' Pogba is running the show from this left flank of his. He picks out Lingard with an incredible disguised pass but the Englishman can't make the most of it. He then repeats the trick for Martial - who is also hassled out - before Pogba's ball to Mata runs out of play
60' United flow forward once again and with it 4 v 4, Lingard reads Pogba's run completely wrong and kills the move. United get the ball back soon enough, though, and Lingard wins them a corner.
OOOO LA LA TONY! Paul Pogba, who's hugging the left touchline, cuts in and tees up Martial. The young man takes a touch, and simply caresses it into the top corner. What a shot. What a goal.
56' UFF! United overload the left and switch it back into the middle where Matic plays a lovely little dinked ball into Lingard - but it's taken off his forehead by an excellent Keane header.
55' OH MY LORDS! Pogba and Lingard play a lovely one-two that allows the Frenchman to maraud into the Everton box; and he tries to pick out Martial with a pass across the face of goal but misses him by the proverbial whisker
53' Shaw screams down the left flank and plays a superb ball into the six-yard box that is take off Herrera's foot by an excellent Martina tackle. This has been a game of some excellent blocks, I must tell you
51' OH MY WORDS! JUAN MATA, MY LORD! The little Spaniard jinks inside and whacks a splendid shot at goal that has Pickford beaten, but can't the better of his far post and it thuds off it.
50' Some intricate passing from Herrera and Mata - looking to open up the disciplined masses of blue - breaks down when Morgan Schneiderlin puts a lanky leg in.
48' Nothing comes from the corner, except for Rojo sending a speculative volley some ten miles into the air after the initial set-piece and a follow-up cross had been cleared
47' OOOOO! JUAN MATA! Shaw makes the best of a ricocheted pass from Pogba before teeing up Mata at the edge of the box. The Spaniard arrows one at Pickford and the Englishman does well to tip it over.
Under some atrocious weather conditions, both teams have played out a half of football that's barely risen over average and has mostly been full of scrappy passes and sloppy touches.
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A superb second-half performance from United - with Paul Pogba taking his game to a whole different level - blew away Everton and it's a much deserved three points to end that dreary three-draw run and a great way to start 2018.
A cathartic win for United and the smile on Jose Mourinho's face tells it all.
Thank you for reading.. 'twas a pleasure. Anirudh Menon signing out, and wishing you all a happy new year once again.
Toodle-ooo!