It’s a milestone afternoon for Manchester United. For their last 3,999 games, they have named an academy graduate in their matchday squad — and today is no different, continuing that incredible streak that runs all the way back to 1937.
And it could be a big day in more ways than one. After victories against Spurs and Man City last week, they now have a chance to win three straight games in the league for the first time since January.
Standing in their way are an Everton side riding the feel-good factor of their win over Chelsea last week. Their interim boss, Duncan Ferguson, is a man who knows all about scoring against Manchester United.
Kick-off is at 2pm.
TEAM NEWS: No changes for Manchester United, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sticks with the tried and trusted that got the job done in the derby last Saturday night.
De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Lingard, James, Martial, Rashford
TEAM NEWS: Four changes for the visitors including, crucially from an Irish perspective, a first league start for Seamus Coleman since he was sent off against Burnley at the start of October.
Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Mina, Digne, Bernard, Davies, Iwobi, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Duncan Ferguson has said that two of those changes – Sigurdsson and Sidibe — were both enforced due to illness to both players.
The teams are out and we’re just about ready to go. Who do you fancy here?
KICK OFF: And Manchester United have the first chance within 16 seconds. Rashford does well to win a header, Martial and Fred burrow through the Everton defence and, on the turn from about 10 yards out, Lingard drags it wide on the turn. Decent chance that.
2 mins – Now Mason Holgate tries his luck, shaping to cross but spotting David de Gea a couple of yards off his line. The United keeper takes no chances and flicks it over the crossbar for a corner.
3 mins – Calvert-Lewin flicks the ball on at the front post and United can only scramble it to edge of the box, where Bernard is waiting. High and wide.
5 mins – Tom Davies dives in with a rash challenge, upending Scott McTominay and getting none of the ball, and he’s the first man into Michael Oliver’s book with less than five minutes on the clock.
7 mins – Holgate warms De Gea’s palms with an effort from the edge of the box but really, there was nothing in it to trouble the United keeper.
10 mins – What a ball from Victor Lindelof, splitting Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane with a laser from defence. Rashford is on to it, but he’s running away from goal, and can’t get his shot on target.
11 mins – Another chance for United as James bursts in behind Digne and collects the through ball from McTominay. Pickford stays put on his line but James drags his shot across the face of goal and wide on the far side.
15 mins – A bit wild by Jesse Lingard who slides in late on Michael Keane with his studs up. There’s no contact as Keane clears the ball, and so no booking for Lingard, despite the protestations of Seamus Coleman and the Everton players.
17 mins – Martial takes a tumble on the edge of the box as he tries to jink his way past Keane, and a roar goes up around Old Trafford. Replays show that Keane got a touch to win the ball before the two tangled and Martial went to ground.
25 mins — Everton substitution: Lucas Digne’s involvement for the afternoon comes to an abrupt end. He goes down holding his groin, and Leighton Baines gets stripped on the line and is quickly brought on in his place.
26 mins – Tom Davies clips McTominay on the edge of the box and, for a moment, he must have been worried that that would also be his last contribution of the afternoon. Fortunately for him, it’s a United free — in a decent spot — and nothing more.
27 mins — Ooof. Great strike by Rashford, who absolutely leathers it, and Pickford, having taken a step in the other direction, throws out a strong left hand to beat it away.
30 mins – Calvert-Lewin steps onto a loose ball and tries his luck from 30ish yards out. It’s on target but it’s straight at De Gea. More interestingly, it has started to rain, and Big Dunc has just ditched the suit jacket so that it doesn’t get wet. You’d have to presume somebody will get him a rain jacket but for the moment, he’s just patrolling the line in his nice white shirt.
34 mins – Richarlison skips outside Lindelof, and the United defender just leans into him which is, of course, a foul. Baines’ delivery is comfortably cleared.
36 mins – Great ball in from the right by Iwobi and Lindelof has to be alert to head it behind before Richarlison can slide in and cause them some real problems.
GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Everton (Lindelof og, 36′)
Absolutely calamitous defending by United from the corner — and Everton lead! The corner comes in from the right and De Gea makes a bit of a hames of it, swinging and missing, albeit under a bit of pressure from Mina and Calvert-Lewin. Lindelof is at the back post, clearly (and reasonably) not expecting it to come that far, and before he knows it, it’s bounced off his shins and trickled over the line.
VAR has a check to see if there was a foul by Calvert-Lewin on De Gea — he definitely made contact — but it’s not deemed clear and obvious enough to overturn the decision. Goal stands. Everton lead.
44 mins – James lifts the ball into the box but there’s no United player there to attack it and Coleman volleys it right back where it came from, with interest.
45 mins – Corner for United, which runs out the far side, and then James has another attempt from open play, which drifts harmlessly over the bar.
Meanwhile, here’s Duncan Ferguson wearing a shirt and no jacket in the rain.
45+1 mins – Two additional minutes to be played here…
45+2 mins – Rashford turns Coleman inside out and pulls it back to Martial on the edge of the six-yard box, but Mina gets a toe on it to nick it away. Shaw follows up but it’s straight at Pickford.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-1 Everton
Here’s that Everton goal. What do you think – a clear and obvious foul on De Gea, or not?
"That's back to de Gea's early days at United - getting bullied."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 15, 2019
Lindelof can do nothing about it but his own-goal opens the scoring at Old Trafford!
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The Sky studio is split: Graeme Souness and Bacary Sagna say it’s a clear foul that should have been overturned on review; Joleon Lescott says there’s nothing much in it.
SECOND HALF: We’re back underway. I’ll let you know if Big Dunc has found a new shirt and/or a rain jacket ASAP.
50 mins – First half-chance of this second half falls to Fred, who snatches at it and sends it high and wide.
51 mins – And now Rashford shapes to have a go from 25 yards out, but it’s also a mile off target.
53 mins – Dangerous ball in from Fred, who whips a free kick towards the back post. Maguire and Keane both go for it, with Pickford happy to stay home and mind the house, and it misses everyone and goes behind for a goal kick. Any contact there from Maguire and Everton were in real trouble.
54 mins – Good ball from McTominay who sets James off and running down the right. He tries to pull it back to Rashford in the middle, but Keane reaches a foot out behind him which is enough to intercept and kill the danger.
58 mins – Richarlison is booked for hoofing the ball high into the stand after it had already bounced out of play for a throw-in. Not the smartest move.
60 mins – Just past the hour mark and you’d have to imagine that it’s time for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to shake things up a bit and start making changes.
62 mins – Ouch. Daniel James’s effort has just been blocked by Jesse Lingard’s face at point-blank range, and it wasn’t a half-hit shot either. He’ll be feeling that one later on. There was a good effort from Shaw just before that as he took it on by himself and drew a good save from Pickford.
65 mins — Manchester United substitution: Jesse Lingard’s birthday party is over; mason Greenwood is on.
66 mins – Lindelof clatters through the back of Calvert-Lewin in the air, and he goes into Michael Oliver’s book as well.
69 mins – Half-chance again for United. Greenwood uses his body well to hold off Mina in the box, and then lays it off to James, who shoots through Keane’s legs. Pickford is easily equal to it though.
70 mins – And now it’s Lindelof who tries his luck and has Pickford scrambling. Everton can’t clear a United corner beyond their own 18-yard line and Lindelof decides to have a go. Just a fraction too high.
71 mins — Everton sub: Moise Keane is on for Bernard.
72 mins – The vast majority of the football is being played by United now as they press for an equaliser, and it looks like it’ll be counter-attacks or bust for Everton as far as adding a second goal is concerned. They nearly hit United quickly as Richarlison sets Kean free, but he can’t pick out Calvert-Lewin in the middle.
75 mins – Inch perfect tackle from Wan-Bissaka, and it had to be. McTominay gave the ball away to Richarlison, who tried to skip around the United defender in the box, but he slid in with perfect technique to nick the ball away.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Everton (Greenwood, 77′)
United get their goal! Mason Greenwood equalises with 13 minutes to play and Old Trafford comes back to life again.
It’s a very tidy finish from the youngster. James — who has again been one of United’s more lively threats — drifted in off the left and rolled it to Greenwood on the edge of the box. He took a touch back inside before whipping it through Mina’s legs into the corner. Pickford nearly got there but it was nicely in the corner.
All square!
80 mins – 10 left in Old Trafford. Can either side find a winner here?
83 mins – Another smashing tackle by Wan-Bissaka again to dispossess Everton in the box. And then another. Just in case you’re keeping count.
84 mins – Decent effort by Iwobi and De Gea gets across to put it behind for a corner.
86 mins — Manchester United sub: Mata on to replace James for the final four-plus minutes.
87 mins – Leighton Baines fancies his chances with a free from about 30 yards out, but it’s always far too high and never coming down.
89 mins — Everton sub: This is an unusual one. Moise Kean, who’s not long on, is taken off to be replaced by Niasse. He doesn’t look to be injured either. Himself and Duncan Ferguson didn’t even exchange as much as a glance, and Kean headed straight down the tunnel. Whatever that was about, you can sure we haven’t heard the last of it.
90 mins – Four additional minutes to be played.
90+2 mins – Martial makes a three-quarter hearted appeal for a penalty as he goes to ground with Mina in close attention. Nothing doing.
90+4 mins – Dominic Calvert-Lewin gets the nod as Sky’s Man of the Match.
FULL TIME: Manchester United 1-1 Everton
Duncan Ferguson hails a “tremendous” performance by his team.
“Fantastic to a man.”
Asked about that Moise Kean substitution, Duncan Ferguson says it was “nothing personal” about Moise Kean, he just needed to make a chance to kill some time.
Very strange decision all the same.
So that’s it from Old Trafford. Manchester United miss the chance to close the gap on Chelsea and really make their presence felt, while Everton will certainly feel like they’ve left Manchester with a point gained rather than two dropped.
Over to the Emirates now for the main event of the afternoon.
Thanks for reading.
