Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
If Everton were in a boxing match this season, they would have been knocked down in the first round, dragging themselves up from the canvas to land an almighty sucker punch of their own.
David Moyes' side climbed out of the jaws of defeat not once but twice at the weekend, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a curving strike in the dying embers to send the Hill Dickinson into the kind of pandemonium that feels reserved for the Toffees: erratic and unpredictable, but undeniably brilliant.
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
It was a special afternoon, confirming that while the Blues are short on numbers, they are anything but lightweight. This team have the capacity to dazzle, even after selling Iliman Ndiaye at the end of the transfer window - and failing to replace him.
Will Everton regret selling Iliman Ndiaye?
From a financial perspective: Yes, Everton will regret selling Ndiaye to Manchester City for £65m - a figure considered by some observers to be beneath the Senegalese's fair market value.
From a sporting perspective, Everton are also considerably weaker. On the right flank, Brennan Johnson is now Everton's main man - and he is a direct replacement for Dwight McNeil in any case.
Ndiaye, 26, spent two seasons at Everton, and throughout that spell, established himself as the Toffees' talisman, dancing up and down the wing, wrong-footing defenders and raising supporters from their seats.
Sure, Everton have managed to bring Jack Grealish back to the Hill Dickinson for a second loan spell in succession, but Ndiaye's absence will be keenly felt on the right, and with the transfer window now shut, the Scotsman will need to be resourceful in finding a way to circumvent Everton's lack of options out wide.
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates Thierno Barry scoring their third goal
Well, that task is being made easier by one exciting prospect, dazzling already this season and proving themselves to be the club's next version of their former Senegalese star.
Everton have already found the next Iliman Ndiaye
Ndiaye will be dearly missed at Everton, but the show must go on, and with Johnson yet to prove that he will cut the mustard as a regular starter on the right flank, Moyes may want to consider an alternative option.
Last season, during the January transfer window, Moyes and Everton welcomed Tyrique George on loan. That move was made permanent for a £25m fee this summer, and George is already showing on Merseyside that his new employers are going to receive bang for their buck.
Everton winger Tyrique George
Against Man United, George came up clutch, firing home an equaliser in the 83rd minute, collecting from fellow summer signing Hayden Hackney and rifling past Senne Lammens.
The season is young, but George has already come on leaps and bounds in an Everton shirt, producing the kind of confident and dynamic performances that characterised Ndiaye's time on Merseyside.
It wasn't just his show-stopping strike, but an energetic and electric performance which supports two previous efforts in suggesting that there is something Ndiaye-esque about him.
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BBC Sport reporter Guilia Bould has suggested that the 20-year-old is in line to support Thierno Barry as Everton's back-up centre-forward for the foreseeable future, but such fleet-footed skills offer the suggestion that he will be at his best when dancing out wide.
In any case, his combative and committed displays in the Premier League this season both align with Moyes' tactical principles and the need for such a presence now that Ndiaye has jumped ship.
Should George keep this up, he may well establish himself as Everton's finest signing since Ndiaye. The circumstances certainly make a firm comment on that, with the young English winger potentially filling a hole that would have otherwise punctured Moyes' hopes of making progress over the first half of the season.
Everton might have been knocked down at the start of the 2026/27 season - but they are certainly not out. The Toffees have a real chance to make headway over the next few months, before reinforcing in January.
By that point, Goerge may well be firing on all cylinders. Everton might still need another winger, but in supplement to the rising star.
Everton's Ainsley Maitland-Niles celebrates scoring their second goal
Everton's Ainsley Maitland-Niles celebrates scoring their second goal