Man United frustrated again as Townsend claims point for Everton.
Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at Old Trafford on another disappointing day in the Premier League.
United took the lead via Anthony Martial on 42 minutes,
but Andros Townsend equalized just after the hour mark.
Both teams had to settle for a draw as Yerry Mina’s late attempt was ruled out for offside.
The defeat adds to the strain on United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
he has just one point in his last six games and hasn’t kept a clean sheet in his last nine league games, their worst defensive run in 50 years.
On Townsend’s equalizer, Solskjaer remarked, “We should have dealt with the situation better.”
“I felt we began brilliantly, with great energy, excellent opportunities, and a beautiful goal,
but in the second half, we lacked the cutting edge to get the second, which is crucial in a game like this.”
Solskjaer surprised many by sending Cristiano Ronaldo,
and Paul Pogba to the bench before the game, with Martial starting despite a meager return of two goals in his previous 24 outings for the club.
Everton, however, was missing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison due to injury,
while Alex Iwobi failed a late fitness test for Rafael Benitez’s side.
On Tuesday, Ronaldo scored a 95th-minute winner against Villarreal in the Champions League, his fifth goal in five games since his comeback.
But he was a high-profile absence, to begin with, as Solskjaer rotated his team after complaints about match scheduling following the club’s European successes.
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United’s previous league match ended in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa,
but they started well here, with Anthony Martial hitting wide and Mason Greenwood darting across goal in the opening ten minutes.
After that, Michael Keane headed wide for the visitors, before Edinson Cavani had a powerful header saved by Jordan Pickford.
Everton’s Demarai Gray was the latest to threaten in a tense first half before United took the lead.
Martial was given the ball by Bruno Fernandes, who made no mistake with a thunderous shot into the net.
In 55 minutes, Jadon Sancho came on for Martial, and Ronaldo came on for Cavani, but it was equal little under 10 minutes later.
In the Everton half, Fred has pushed off the ball, and the visitors broke, with the ball falling to Townsend, who blasted it low past David De Gea.
With 20 minutes remaining, Solskjaer substituted Pogba for Fred, and Ronaldo fizzed an attempt over goal before Pogba blasted one over.
On 85 minutes, Mina slid the ball home, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.
United tried for a winner but couldn’t find it, and a frustrated Ronaldo went straight down the tunnel at the final whistle as Solskjaer’s team tripped up once again.
“We played against a really strong team,” Benitez told the BBC. It’s not easy to achieve a good result in this town, but we performed well.
We lose a late goal that we may not have anticipated,
but the team’s response in the second half was excellent. It’s a shame about the final one because it’s offside,
but it might have been much better, and we’re happy with the way we played and the ultimate result.
“We should win this game,” Fernandes remarked, dissatisfied.
More opportunities should be created. We should not give up an objective like that.
It isn’t the first time, and we must examine our errors and determine what we can do to improve.
“We aren’t looking at the league standings right now, but we should have more points.” We lose points at home, which is something we should avoid.
In the Premier League, these final two home games were insufficient. If we want to win anything at the conclusion of the season, we’ll have to step up our game.”
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