Bruno Fernandes was in his elements as Manchester United came from behind to beat Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
The game started in a nervy note for Everton and Manchester United, both of whom looked shaky after coming into this game on the back of two successive defeats. However, it was the hosts who ended up grabbing the lead, not long after Anthony Martial had pulled a close-range shot wide, as Bernard beat David de Gea at his near post after receiving the ball from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester United, though, hit back six minutes later, as Bruno Fernandes headed in unchallenged from Luke Shaw’s pinpoint cross. Bruno Fernandes then doubled his tally as his intended cross for Marcus Rashford went into the bottom right corner, with Jordan Pickford failing to react quickly.
Manchester United have scored 42 Premier League goals since Bruno Fernandes made his debut in the competition. The Portuguese playmaker has had a hand in 24 of those goals (13 goals, 10 assists and 1 second assist).
Catalyst. ??? pic.twitter.com/xrTxwNm6Vn
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 7, 2020
Both sides had their half chances thereafter, but the fourth goal in the game did not come till deep in injury time, with Bruno Fernandes turning provider this time as Edinson Cavani opened his account for Manchester United. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men following their crucial win over Everton.
David de Gea: 6/10
Not a lot he could have done for the goal that Bernard scored after he was sold for a shot on the far post. Otherwise, de Gea had precious little to do, with Everton not testing him even once bar one instance when Lucas Digne smashed his near post. Decent enough with the ball at his feet.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 6/10
Another game in which Wan-Bissaka did not necessarily cover himself in glory. While the young full-back stopped a number of crosses from going in from his flank, he should have done better to close down Bernard for Everton’s only goal. Also allowed Digne a shot at de Gea later on in the game. Hardly did anything of note in the final third, despite being a constant outlet on his wing.
Victor Lindelof: 6/10
Back in the starting lineup after recovering from a bad back, Lindelof made a slow start to the game after being beaten by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the build-up to Everton’s goal. Thereafter, though, the Swede made amends, barely putting a foot wrong and making some important clearances.
Harry Maguire: 9/10
Harry Maguire has won 32 aerial duels in the Premier League this season, more than any other defender in the competition.
Since he made his Man Utd debut, only James Tarkowski (224) has won more aerial duels in the league among defenders than Maguire’s 208.
Dominant. ? pic.twitter.com/7qpEqds1WR
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 7, 2020
Maguire was a little slow off the blocks in the early exchanges, but he was faultless for the majority of the game. The fact that Calvert-Lewin hardly had a sniff at goal was solely down to Maguire, who was imposing in the air and domineering otherwise. Like Lindelof, he made many-a-crucial clearance and hardly lost the ball. Solskjaer would need more of the same from his captain.
Luke Shaw: 8/10
Shaw had an intriguing duel with Seamus Coleman on his flank and he came out on top more often than not. Given enough time and space to cross for the first goal by the Everton captain, the English full-back made no error in finding Bruno Fernandes. Defended well for the most part before going off with a hamstring injury, that would be a major concern for Solskjaer.
Scott McTominay: 8/10
Reuniting with Fred in the midfield double pivot, McTominay was crucial in asserting Manchester United’s dominance in the game after Everton took the lead. The Scottish international kept a check on Gylfi Sigurdsson’s output and won some important fouls in midfield. Also created a chance while hardly misplacing the ball in sloppy fashion.
Fred: 8.5/10
Fred’s game by numbers vs. Everton:
91% pass accuracy
77 total touches
28 forward passes
6 ball recoveries
2 big chances created
2 tackles won
2 fouls
1 through ball
1 interceptions
1 foul wonQuality. ??? pic.twitter.com/OZc7cTX4nA
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 7, 2020
Like McTominay, Fred was a colossal presence in the middle of the park for Manchester United. The Brazilian had the task of keeping a lid on James Rodriguez, who was successfully kept quiet on Saturday. Set a quick tempo during turnovers and a lobbed pass for Marcus Rashford was quite delightful, to say the least. Hardly putting a foot wrong at the moment, Fred should be indispensable.
Juan Mata: 6/10
With Mason Greenwood picking up an injury ahead of the game, Juan Mata was preferred on the right flank again. The Spaniard was not really outstanding and hardly saw the ball, but he did keep play ticking whenever he got a touch. Helped out Wan-Bissaka against Digne for the most part.
Bruno Fernandes: 10/10
A perfect outing for Bruno Fernandes, despite being booked. The Portuguese international was on the receiving end of some playacting by the Everton players after he was shown a yellow card, but he held firm. As for what he did to impact the game, Bruno Fernandes played a direct hand in each of the three goals Manchester United scored.
Bruno Fernandes since making his Premier League debut [league rank]:
417 final third passes [1st]
198 passes into the box [2nd]
64 total shots [2nd]
50 chances created [2nd]
23 goals + assists [1st]
13 goals [2nd]
10 assists [1st]Consistently one of the best itl. ? pic.twitter.com/NQqtghfkIS
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 7, 2020
The Manchester United talisman opened the scoring for his side with a perfectly timed header before scoring the second inadvertently after Rashford failed to head his cross in. Bruno Fernandes then ended the game with an assist, as Edinson Cavani scored his first for Manchester United. Between all that, he was the man who ran the show for the visitors. Just too good.
Marcus Rashford: 6/10
Much improved after a disastrous display against Istanbul Basaksehir. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement for Rashford. The Englishman did not get his head on a Bruno Fernandes cross, but he did open up play and created 4 chances with some fine passes. Had a couple of other chances to find the back of the net, but poor finishing and decision-making deserted him.
Anthony Martial: 5/10
The only poor performer on the day for Manchester United. Martial hardly misplaced a pass, but always seemed to run into an Everton defender when he attempted to take them on. The French striker was still crucial in stretching the erratic Mason Holgate, who was poor on his return from injury. Needs a scoring run to get his confidence back.
SUBSTITUTES
Axel Tuanzebe: 6/10
Forced into the left-back role after replacing Shaw, Tuanzebe took some time to get his positioning right. However, after some teething problems, there was no troubling the young defender, who did well in the makeshift position.
Edinson Cavani: 7/10
Cavani's first Manchester United goal! ? pic.twitter.com/4HIP6O7JJp
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 7, 2020
Introduced with 10 minutes left in regulation time, Cavani did not see a lot of the ball but ended the game with his first goal in Manchester United colours. Will be relieved to get off the mark.
Paul Pogba: N/A
A late introduction, Pogba helped see the game out.
