Key events
23 min: Everton looking a little more comfortable if short of a final ball at the moment. Mainoo is robbed as he tries to go on a weaving run out of defence.
22 min: Yellow card for Ashley Young, legging up his successor as United left-winger, Garnacho. Young did not live up to his name there.
21 min: Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “ You lucky man to get this MBM at the end of a fascinating weekend of Premier League action, and the 60th anniversary of Dr Who. I am old enough to remember the first episode, what a mind-blower, and still The Beatles and Stones to come ! But have we time-travelled back to the 80s here, looking at the top 4 ? In the 11 seasons that had an 8 in them, the only winners were The Reds, The Arse, and Villa, currently occupying 3 out of 4 of the top spots ? Which was scarier, the Daleks, playing at Anfield, or Ron Atkinson in full bling, belly and heart attack trying to live up to the Busby legacy ?”
19 min: Garnacho tracks back well to cover Garnacho, as Garner looks to send away Harrison. Then, McNeil zips the ball across goal and nobody goes to it. The age of the header and cross is behind us.
17 min: United have dealt with this fine so far and are passing the ball around nicely, and looking for gaps when Everton push on. Onana is the first to wobble, and hacks the ball out of play from a wonky McTominay pass.
15 min: The fireworks continue, as do the Everton, Everton chants. The team haven’t really responded to the, er, firecracker atmosphere. Not yet anyway.
13 min: Almost another spectacular United goal. Fernandes takes and Shaw volleys over. Did it take a deflection? No, says the referee.
12 min: Now some fireworks are going off…
10 min: Let-off for United when they allow Harrison to play Calvert-Lewin down the left, and he cuts in and back out, but can’t beat Onana.
Now, here comes the chants and the boos in the 10th minute – for 10 points. The Sky sound mixer is working overtime, like Larry Levan and Terminator X at their best, to cover up the rude words directed at the Premier League. The effect is a wash of sound that also reminds of Pink Floyd’s Fearless.
9 min: Some dogs of war stuff gets the crowd going. The crowd approve, some heavy tackles.
7 min: Everton get a free-kick on the halfway line and Jordan Pickford takes it. Some Dyche-ball classicism for you there. Mainoo gets involved for the first time, tackling Harrison and lucky not to concede a corner.
5 min: Did the Everton fans applaud? That’s even stopped the booing…but only for a short while. They barrack Andre Onana when he dithers over the ball.
4 min: Michael Olise’s goal of the season as Luton has dropped to second place. You will rarely see a better executed overhead kick. Garnacho himself barely seems to believe it.
Goal! Everton 0-1 Manchester United (Garnarcho, 3)
What a goal! What a goal! It was Wayne Rooney reincarnate. Dalot gets the ball from Rashford and Garnacho goes for the overhead. And pulls it off What a goal!
2 min: Boos for Rashford as takes the ball. Even more boos as Branthwaite and McTominay clash and the United player goes down.
1 min: We are away at Goodison. Erik Ten Hag, in the type flat cap you used to see in The Sullivans, is banished to the stands, and must be deafened by all the boos.
Z-Cars rings out and there are boos as the teams take to the field. The banners are out and the boos get even louder as the Premier League anthem rings out. This is booing of a high grade, you can taste the bile from through the screen. Then the Everton fans cheer their team, and boo United’s.
Sean Dyche also spoke to Sky.
“It’s a tough challenge, but we’re willing to take it on. The fans have driven us on since I’ve been here. I’ve mentioned it many times, they’ve questioned us and rightly so at times, but they’re always here in numbers, they travel in numbers and they’re right with us.
“The players have paid that back this season with some very good performances, some good points on the board until the deduction, but there’s a good connection and that’s very important.”
Erik Ten Hag spoke to Sky Sports, beginning on Kobie Mainoo.
”We have all seen him in pre-season, but then he dropped out with a bad injury. He worked hard to get back, he’s back and match fit, has played some games and he’s prepared and ready. You miss every player, but Luke Shaw is massive. We’re very happy he’s back because he will definitely contribute to our success.”
The table, following Aston Villa’s win at Tottenham leaves both Everton and United five points from where they want to be.
Evertonian and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has had his say.
“The fact that the Premier League sought to introduce a new sanctions policy in the middle of this process amounts, in my view, to an abuse of process,” writes Burnham, who has also requested any evidence that the Premier League discussed Everton’s case in relation to the proposed introduction of an independent regulator. “From my experience of regulation, introducing new rules in the late stages of a process would be regarded as regulatory malpractice.”
Duncan Edwards gets in touch: “You do realise that your nice “Martial testimonial” wind-up ensures he’s going to notch today? The most frustrating United player I can recall. Skillful, bone idle, great finisher, injury prone. In the unlikely event he gets a testimonial, has the brass neck to accept and is fit to appear, I’ll be crying off attending due to a knock. It’s what he wouid have wanted.”
The big news for Manchester United fans is Kobie Mainoo getting a long-awaited firsty Premier League start; he starred on the club’s pre-season star and then broke down with injury. Luke Shaw is back at left-back, and Anthony Martial, just 18 months short of his United testimonial – Shaw’s is next year – starts in place of the injured Rasmus Hojlund..
Amadou Onana is Sean Dyche’s sole absentee from Everton’s win at Crystal Palace. Idrissa Gana Gueye comes in. Seamus Coleman in the squad for the first time this season since his knee injury.
The teams
Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Garner, Doucoure, Gueye, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin, McNeil. Subs: Virginia, Patterson, Keane, Godfrey, Coleman, Hunt, Danjuma, Dobbin, Chermiti.
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, McTominay, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford, Martial. Subs: Bayindir, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Reguilon, Van de Beek, Amrabat, Hugill, Mejbri, Pellestri.
Will Unwin on a big week for Manchester United, on the field.
Injuries have caused huge problems. The return of Luke Shaw to the squad for Everton is welcome news but Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia will be missing and Rasmus Højlund is a doubt. If the Dane does start it would give him the chance to score his first Premier League goal. He has scored five in four in the Champions League but struggled domestically. “It [the relationship between players] is growing but you can see we are creating chances,” Ten Hag says. “It’s a matter of time and he will net in the Premier League as well. If you score in the Champions League you will also score in the Premier League.”
Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell spoke this week.
We are shocked by what we believe is a wholly disproportionate and unjust ruling by the Premier League’s commission. We cannot say anything further on the commission’s findings until the conclusion of the appeal process – and the players and manager cannot be drawn on any specifics relating to the commission’s ruling in the media duties they will be fulfilling in the days and weeks ahead.
Jonathan Wilson on the Everton punishment.
There’s a sense that, if you have to be docked 10 points, this might not be the worst season for it to happen. Sheffield United and Luton are clubs of obviously limited resources, while Burnley have been unexpectedly poor. Once it became apparent that Vincent Kompany’s side were not going to produce at the higher level the form that enabled them to dominate the Championship, the three promoted sides felt like a probable bottom three. For those lower mid-table sides glancing anxiously over their shoulders, Bournemouth’s slow start under Andoni Iraola has offered an additional buffer.
Preamble
Somewhere through the blue smoke and bile a game might break out. Yes, Evertonians are, and many would say rightfully, kicking against the pricks at the Premier League – and their independent commission – for the deduction of 10 points. What had been a season of just about par – 14 points from 12 matches – has become a relegation battle. Luton and Bournemouth winning on Saturday was bad news for Sean Dyche’s team. Can the emotion carry them? It may help to face Manchester United, who have been nobody’s idea of a machine for many years now. The problem might be that United have started winning games, and even if nobody is quite sure how, they are one of the form teams in the Premier League. The atmosphere is bound to be bouncing, and expect a few boos and calls of corruption on the way. Though mind, that tends to happen at most games these days. But this could be special.
Kick-off is 4.30pm UK time. Join me.