Manchester United defeated Everton in a physical contest
Manchester United defeated Everton in a physical contest
After watching Manchester United against Everton, former referee Keith Hackett has called on officials to take action against the increasingly chaotic corner-kick tactics employed by teams. The Premier League has witnessed an increase in chaotis scenes at corner-kicks in recent seasons, with scenes at the Hill Dickinson Stadium providing the latest example.
Hackett was left furious after Everton set up to pin Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens on his line at corner-kicks, resulting in wrestling matches around the Belgian. He urged referees to take control of the situation, which he believes is tarnishing the image of Premier League football.
"Football really does have to take some action against this mauling that's taking place inside the penalty area. The number of occasions in the Everton-Manchester United game where players were being manhandled, 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 wish to see, and I just think that action's got to be taken sooner rather than later to stop this nonsense that's going on inside the penalty area", he said (via @Footyinsider247 on X).
David Moyes' Everton side deployed players to stand around goalkeeper Lammens and prevent him from taking decisive action during corners, a tactic that has become normal in the Premier League today. Many sides have set-piece coaches who instruct certain players to block off opposition goalkeepers and allow their teammates have a free run at the ball.
This season in the Premier League, 15 of the 20 teams have specialist set-piece coaches on their books, resulting in intentional tactics such as fouling and blocking opposition goalkeepers. As a result, after 210 matches in the league by mid-January, Opta revealed that a whopping 28.3% of goals in the league came from corners, free-kicks, and long throw-ins. This is up from the 20.6% in the entirety of the 2024-25 season, a mark of increased set-piece dependency by teams.
Manchester United goalkeeper hailed by Everton boss after masterful showing
Manchester United shot-stopper Senne Lammens has been praised by Everton manager David Moyes for his display against the Toffees. The Belgium international was named as the Man of the Match as the Red Devils claimed a 1-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
After the game, Moyes told reporters that he thought Lammens was brilliant for his save on Michael Keane and his performance when dealing with corner-kicks. He admitted that he had hoped to score at least once from a corner-kick but rued the performance of the goalkeeper, who he admitted was the best on the pitch.
"The goalie was bloody brilliant. The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with the corners. We hoped somewhere we'd have got...one of them with the pressure we had in those situations. I thought we would get one, but we didn't. For me he was the best player on the pitch", he said (via GOAL).
Senne Lammens kept a first away clean sheet since joining Manchester United and a first clean sheet away by a Red Devils goalkeeper since last March. The 23-year-old made four punches, two high claims, and four saves, as well as 11 ball recoveries.