Manchester United narrowly overcame Everton in their Premier League clash at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday evening.
Man United have looked rejuvenated since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim at the start of January. The Red Devils went into the match looking to extend their unbeaten streak to six matches and they did just as they picked up all three points.
Benjamin Sesko broke the deadlock in the 71st minute as he coolly rolled the ball past Jordan Pickford after United hit the hosts on the break. That proved to be the difference between the two sides as United held on to clinch another valuable win.
Keith Hackett Wants Corner Madness To Stop
Man Utd goalkeeper Senne Lammens punches an Everton corner clear
There has been a huge emphasis on set-pieces this season. Teams have been stacking the box with a plethora of players to try and make it as difficult as possible for opposition goalkeepers to deal with balls swung into the danger area.
That was a tactic adopted by Everton on Monday evening as they tried everything in their power to cause chaos from corners.
Following the match, ex-Premier League referee Keith Hackett has now called on PGMOL to take action to stop teams from using such tactics.
He told Football Insider: "Football really does have to take action against this mauling that is taking place inside the penalty area.
"The number of occasions in the Everton vs Man Utd game where players were being blocked, pulled, pushed... and it went unpunished, until the 83rd minute when two players were finally yellow carded.
"I don't necessarily blame referee Darren England. I think this is a PGMOL/Premier League matter.
"It's tarnishing the image of the game. It's not football that spectators want to see. I just think that action needs to be taken sooner rather than later to stop this nonsense that is happening inside the area."
Kobbie Mainoo made light of the matter after the match. Taking to social media, he compared an image of all the players inside the six-yard box to the Royal Rumble.
Edwin van der Sar Praises Senne Lammens
senne lammens manchester united
Edwin van der Sar was covering the game as a pundit for Sky Sports, and he praised Lammens for how he dealt with the corners, which he called 'horrible'.
The Dutchman, who also named his greatest Man Utd teammates XI in the evening, told him,per UnitedinFocus: "Congratulations on the win, extremely important of course, and I think your role from the corners, they were horrible.
“There were eight, nine, 12 people around you, so it was a big fight. But with your age, first year in the Premier League, you’re really doing incredibly well. And you have a good save, good hands, so compliments on your all-around game.
“In the past [at corners], you would have only two players around you, so you had some space to come out. But with this, you don’t have a run-up, you have to stand there on the line with eight, nine, 12 people in front of you, so he had some great punches to clear it and good catches. Well done for your first year in the Premier League.”
Lammens admitted that Everton's tactics from corners were 'a bit over the top'. He said, per the Mirror:
"Everton are a physical team, their defenders are really big. We knew the corners and set pieces would be difficult. It's a strength of mine (dealing with crosses), but today it was a bit over the top! I had to be behind the line in order to come out. It was too much, but it can be difficult for the referee to see it.
"Sometimes you can't be thinking too much about players around you, because then you aren't thinking about the ball. My defenders can create space for me, so I have opportunity to come and punch the ball away. But it is getting more and more difficult."