For Erik ten Hag, this continues to feel like the start of something special at Manchester United. For poor Frank Lampard, on the other hand, was this the end for him at Everton?
In fairness to Lampard, this is not a group of players who have downed tools. They fought for their club and their manager at Old Trafford on Friday night. Ben Godfrey led the defensive effort and Demarai Gray was outstanding in attack.
Everton recovered from conceding Antony’s early goal to level through Conor Coady who was then unfortunate to score an own-goal early in the second half. They had Alex Iwobi carried off and what would have been a late equaliser by substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out for a tight offside.
Brazilian international forward Antony opened the scoring for Manchester United with just over three minutes on the clock
Marcus Rashford inspired United to victory after assisting the first goal, forcing the error for the second and scoring the third
The in-form English forward capped a fine performance with a penalty in added time for his 13th goal of the season so far
Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea was culpable for a shocking error in the first half for the visitors’ equaliser
Time is running out for Frank Lampard and an early FA Cup exit can only harm his prospects of staying in the Everton job
By the time Marcus Rashford converted a penalty with just about the last kick of the game, Everton were going out of the FA Cup and Lampard may soon be out of a job.
This was a ninth defeat in 12 games and, sadly for him, that kind of form gets people the sack in football.
As hard as Everton tried for the manager and their 9,000 travelling fans, Lampard simply cannot call on the same quality as Ten Hag.
Rashford has grown into a world-beater before our eyes this season. This was another outstanding performance as he had a hand in all three United goals, contributing two assists as well as the late penalty.
It gave Ten Hag a 10th win in a run of 11 games that has turned United into a team that finally looks close to the sum of its parts.
The Dutchman has serial Champions League winners in Casemiro and Raphael Varane, and could afford to leave a world champion in Lisandro Martinez on the bench for 76 minutes here while choosing to play full-back Luke Shaw on the left-side of central defence again. These are the kind of options Lampard can only dream about.
After marking his first anniversary as Everton manager with an unexpected point at the Etihad last weekend, he returned to Manchester on Friday night looking perilously close to the sack after a 4-1 defeat to Brighton in midweek amid mutinous scenes at Goodison Park.
Lampard needed a good start but it took United exactly three minutes to crank up the pressure on him.
Anthony Martial was allowed to turn in the centre-circle despite the presence of three blue shirts around him and spread the ball wide to Rashford.
United’s man in form took on Godfrey and went past him far too easily before rolling the ball towards the far post. Coady had dropped too deep so there was never any question that Antony was offside as he slid in to score in an empty net.
Having weathered the pressure without conceding again, Everton hit back against the run of play in the 14th minute after a passage of play that David de Gea will want to forget.
De Gea has been in excellent form recently but he got away with one when Gray’s low shot hit the post and cannoned into the Spaniard’s back before going out for a corner.
When Gray swung the ball crossfield, Amadou Onana span Casemiro and played in Neal Maupay whose cross to the near post rattled between De Gea’s ankles and rolled through his legs, leaving Coady with a simple tap-in on the goal line. It was the first goal United had conceded in 403 minutes.
Ten Hag insists that Martial can lead the attack but the Frenchman continues to struggle in front of goal. He missed three chances in the first half, notably when he was put through by Rashford and Jordan Pickford rushed out to block.
United have now won each of their last seven games and remain unbeaten at home a loss by Real Sociedad in September
Everton defender Conor Coady was gifted the equaliser after De Gea’s poor error at his near post moments after the opener
The Spanish goalkeeper allowed the ball to squeeze past him at the near post despite having his hand against the woodwork
Everton fans unfurled banners at the end of the game calling for their board to be sacked after the FA Cup third-round defeat
An open game wasn’t lacking in aggression. Having ruffled Erling Haaland’s feathers at the weekend, Godfrey was finally booked after series of scrapes with Rashford, while Bruno Fernandes picked up a yellow card for chopping down Onana.
There was no malice in the challenge that left Iwobi with ankle ligament damage early in the second half, however. Tyrell Malacia chased him down to make a sliding tackle, and Iwobi’s agony was instantly apparent as he landed awkwardly and stayed down.
No sooner had he left the field on a stretcher than United regained the lead. Shaw sprayed a pass out to Rashford on the left and he teased Seamus Coleman, going one way then the other, before crossing low into the six-yard box. Coady instinctively stuck out a leg to intercept and turned the ball into his own net.
Alex Iwobi was stretchered off shortly after the restart with an apparent ankle injury with Abdoulaye Doucoure replacing him
Erik ten Hag’s side face Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup next week before playing Arsenal and Manchester City
Coady then went from hero to villain after turning the ball into his own net after great work from Rashford on the left
Antony returned to the side to score his sixth goal of the season as the Red Devils races into an early lead at Old Trafford
The United fans taunted Lampard with a chorus of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ but he wasn’t done just yet.
Mykolenko fluffed an effort right in front of goal before Calvert-Lewin turned Gray’s cross into the net from close-range only to see it ruled out because the latter was half a yard offside. No reprieve.
When Godfrey brought down Alejandro Garnacho in injury-time, Rashford stepped up to the penalty spot to score for the fifth game in a row – and seventh at Old Trafford.
Football can be a cruel game, as Lampard may be about to discover.
Everton are next in action against Southampton who are sat bottom of the Premier League table in a huge game for Lampard
Late substitute Alejandro Garnacho was taken down by Ben Godfrey in added time as United were awarded a late penalty
Everton extend their run of games without a win to eight since a 3-0 victory over Crysta Palace before the mid-season break
Source:dailymail
