Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score his 700th goal in club football as Manchester United returned to winning ways against Everton.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 700th goal in club football helped Manchester United come from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Ronaldo, introduced as a first-half substitute following Anthony Martial’s injury, found the net with a low left-footed strike late in the opening period at Goodison Park.
Alex Iwobi capitalized on Casemiro’s mistake earlier to put Everton ahead with a long-range strike, with Antony equalizing to maintain a good start to life in England.
Erik ten Haga’s men produced a controlled display after Ronaldo’s strike to keep Everton at arm’s length to move up to fifth in the Premier League table, one point behind the top four.
Casemiro’s first Premier League start fell apart when he was caught by Amadou Onana five minutes from time, allowing Iwobi to curl a brilliant effort past David De Gea and into the top-right corner.
However, Everton’s lead lasted just 10 minutes as Antony pounced on Martial’s well-timed pass to tuck a neat finish into the bottom left corner.
An injury to Martial led to Ronaldo’s introduction shortly before Casemiro wasted a golden opportunity to head wide as he raced onto Bruno Fernandes’s cruiser.
Casemiro registered an assist on the stroke of half-time, but Ronaldo will take the plaudits after he coolly fired between Jordan Pickford’s legs to pick up his landmark.
Marcus Rashford was denied a third goal after a VAR review when he appeared to handle the ball before rounding Pickford, before De Gea kept out Joe Garner’s effort with a stunning fingertip save to seal the win.
1. Everton (4-3-3)
GK – Jordan Pickford – 5/10 – Could do nothing about the goals.
RB – Seamus Coleman – 7/10 – More than held his own up against Rashford.
CB – James Tarkowski – 5/10 – Distribution from the back was good all evening. Bit of a let off to see Rashford’s goal disallowed after he made a mistake in the lead up to it.
CB – Conor Coady – 5/10 – In the wars all evening, as his bloody nose attests.
LB – Vitaliy Mykolenko – 4/10 – Really struggled to contain Antony, which is understandable to be fair.
CM – Amadou Onana – 5/10 – Dispossessed Casemiro in the lead up to Iwobi’s goal. Drifted in and out of the game.
CM – Idrissa Gana Gueye – 4/10 – Lost the ball clumsily just before Man Utd drew level.
CM – Alex Iwobi – 7/10 – Scored a brilliant goal.
RW – Anthony Gordon – 5/10 – Worked hard but lacked quality on the ball.
ST – Neal Maupay – 4/10 – Really struggled up against Man Utd’s centre-backs.
LW – Demarai Gray – 5/10 – Set up the opener, but largely quiet thereafter.
SUB – Dwight McNeil – N/A.
SUB – Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 6/10 – Big presence in the box when he came on.
SUB – James Garner – N/A.
SUB – Salomon Rondon – N/A.
2. Man Utd (4-2-3-1)
GK – David De Gea – 5/10 – Didn’t really have anything to do.
RB – Diogo Dalot – 4/10 – Looser in possession than the rest of his teammates.
CB – Victor Lindelof – 8/10 – Very good performance. Covered well when needed and was strong in the air.
CB – Lisandro Martinez – 7/10 – Like his centre-back partner, had a good game for Man Utd.
LB – Luke Shaw – 7/10 – Put a real shift in on the left flank.
CM – Casemiro – 7/10 – Lost the ball way too easily in the lead up to Iwobi’s goal. Made amends by setting up Ronaldo’s goal with a great pass, and played really well in the second half.
CM – Christian Eriksen – 7/10 – Tidy on the ball and at the heart of most good things United did in the final third.
RM – Antony – 7/10 – Looked very sharp and got a goal for his troubles. Looks a real player.
AM – Bruno Fernandes – 6/10 – Looked infinitely better than he did against Man City…which isn’t hard, but still.
LM – Marcus Rashford – 5/10 – Didn’t get too much out of Coleman.
ST – Anthony Martial – 6/10 – Played a lovely pass through to Antony for his goal, but was subbed off with an injury soon after.
SUB – Cristiano Ronaldo – 7/10 – The liveliest he’s looked in quite a while. Scored a nice goal.
SUB – Scott McTominay – N/A.
SUB – Raphael Varane – N/A.
