All it took was 14 minutes for Benjamin Sesko to prove once again that perhaps he has evolved into Manchester United’s most important asset, after scoring late to thrust Michael Carrick’s side back into the top four of the Premier League table.
For 72 minutes, nothing could separate these sides, be it scrums in the box on corners or goal-line clearances, yet the Slovenia international — after scoring late against West Ham United and Fulham this season already — slotted in from a counter-attack that gave David Moyes’s side a taste of their own medicine.
Everton came into this meeting looking to complete their first league double over United since the 2013-14 campaign, when, ironically, Moyes had recently taken over from Sir Alex Ferguson following his retirement.
But despite improving drastically in the second period after being all-but punished for their sloppy football in the opening half, there was ultimately nothing the Toffees could do to stop Sesko’s strike with only 18 minutes remaining. Nevertheless, the only goal of the game could have come much earlier inside the first four minutes.
Story of the Match
Amad Diallo’s left-footed strike was cleared off the line by James Tarkowski after Jordan Pickford’s save took the string out of the shot.
But there was more to come from Carrick’s men with that chance proving only the start of what would conclude a fairly one-sided opening half, where all the chances were best viewed from the end at which United were attacking.
For all the beauty of the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, one component that had perhaps marred United’s first visit here is the way in which the turf absorbs the rain. Or its failure to do so.
Mbeumo's second-half strike went high over the crossbar (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
A sodden pitch wasn’t the biggest of anyones’s worries, except for Matheus Cunha, who could have sent Benjamin Sesko through on the counter after 66 minutes of goalless football but slipped in one of the best chances up to that point.
For the most part, the conditions didn’t stop shots from flying all over the place; Diogo Dalot dispatched a menacing volley with great speed but it ended up flying past the right-hand post before Bruno Fernandes’ long-range effort in first-half stoppage time sailed high over Pickford’s crossbar.
Chances were hard to come by for Everton and although that was expected, Moyes’s counter-attacking approach started to concern those in the home sections. As the doubt mounted, Bryan Mbeumo dragged a left-footed effort wide shortly after the half-hour mark to raise the blood pressure even more.
Everton are yet to earn a home clean sheet since the turn of the year (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images)
It was the lack of vision for the Toffees that made opportunities a rare sight, and after lots of sideways football, the hosts’ only shot on target from the first 45 minutes was a 33-yard free-kick from James Garner, whose strike was collected effortlessly by Senne Lammens.
Much different was the opening five minutes of the second period however, and the improvement in Everton’s play was evident. Iliman Ndiaye brushed past Casemiro before right-to-left football ended with Harrison Armstrong choosing precision over power inside the box as he subsequently feathered the ball into Lammens’s hands.
The momentum of the match swung frequently and after close strikes from Dewsbury-Hall and a promising attack from Cunha, whose slip was agonising for the visiting supporters in the corner of the ground, the deadlock was finally broken.
It was actually Cunha who transferred the ball over to Mbeumo via a sublime diagonal pass up the pitch before Sesko proved too quick for Tarkowski, tracking back desperately to try and prevent a goal.
Though, when Mbeumo squared it to Sesko, it was an impossible task for Everton, as the striker slotted in his eighth goal of the season to continue a dream run under Carrick.