Ruben Amorim claimed his first Premier League win in charge of Manchester United with a 4-0 victory over Everton on Sunday.
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Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee both scored twice to ensure the Portuguese continued his unbeaten start to life at Old Trafford, having drawn at Ipswich Town last time out in his first match in charge.
Rashford scored the first goal of the Amorim era last weekend and opened the scoring again here, netting after 34 minutes before adding his second shortly after the second half kicked off.
Zirkzee followed suit, clinically slotting his two efforts into the back of the net for his first goals since the opening day of the season.
Following the result, United move up to ninth on 19 points, while Everton remain in 15th, two points above the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
18 | +6 | 29 |
| 7 |
Man City
MCI
|
18 | +4 | 28 |
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
18 | +3 | 28 |
| 9 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
18 | -3 | 28 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
17 | +1 | 25 |
How the match unfolded
After wasting a couple of half-chances early on, Beto almost broke the deadlock when he rounded Andre Onana, only to fire his low shot into the side-netting from a tight angle.
Later in the first half, Rashford met Bruno Fernandes’ corner on the volley, and Jarrad Branthwaite deflected it into the net. The defender was then caught out again for United’s second, as Amad nicked the ball off his toe, and Fernandes unselfishly squared it across the box for Zirkzee to fire home.
It took just 20 seconds for the hosts to add a third after half-time, Amad coolly threading it through for Rashford, who beat Jordan Pickford at his near post with a powerful low shot.
As Everton pushed bodies forward in search of a goal, they were caught out by a blistering counter-attack, with Amad dispossessing James Tarkowski to tee up Zirkzee for his second.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin almost grabbed a late consolation for Everton, but Onana pushed his header away from the near post.
United click into gear
While United did not make a similarly quick start as they had done last weekend, they nevertheless enjoyed a comfortable first Premier League home game under Amorim.
In their new 3-4-3 formation, the hosts initially struggled against Everton, who looked comfortable in midfield thanks to Dwight McNeil’s composure. Though their wide play was more promising, Diogo Dalot and Amad could not find any quality in the final third.
Things started to gel before the break, though, as Fernandes found his range and the front line started to flow.
Rashford’s opening goal came at the perfect time, injecting confidence into the hosts, and he did not look back after that.
Another clean sheet is also a welcome boost to United as they welcome defenders back from long-term injuries. That will come just in time as bookings for Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo here will see them miss their trip to Arsenal on Wednesday in Amorim’s biggest test since stepping into the dugout.
Everton left with questions to answer
Everton’s defensive record in recent games has been something to admire, but Sean Dyche was left with more questions at both ends of the pitch as his side drew another blank.
It has been four matches and over a month since the Toffees last celebrated a goal, a dilemma which the manager attempted to address by starting Beto ahead of Calvert-Lewin, a move that looked like it might pay off.
Better decision-making could have led to an opener. Beto could have teed up Abdoulaye Doucoure but instead sliced wide, while he was only inches away from an empty net early on.
McNeil breezed through United’s midfield in the opening exchanges and picked up promising positions, but with no end product in sight, they could not make the danger count.
Calvert-Lewin was introduced with 25 minutes left, albeit with Everton already 4-0 down, and only a brilliant save from Onana kept him off the scoresheet.
Perhaps more worrying to Dyche will be the ease with which United picked them apart for the four goals, with defensive errors leading to two of those after their recent solidity at the back, something he will be hoping is simply a blip.
Club reports
Man Utd report | Everton report
What the managers said
Ruben Amorim: "The result was good but we were pragmatic. It was not pretty. We did our job, which is to win. You can feel that we have a long way to go. You can feel that in the first few minutes, where we were OK, but then Everton controlled the game. Then we got the goals in the right moment and that changed the game. You can't just focus on the result, you have to focus on the way the result appeared. Like before the game, we have so much to do, but it is better to work with victories. Let's focus on the performance more than the result. We need time to train and improve. It is better to work with victories."
Sean Dyche: "Early in the season there was too many mistakes and that was the same today. In the first 32 minutes I thought we looked a good outfit, we looked progressive. We played well and opened them up. One mistake led to another mistake and before you know it you're 2-0 down and then a third one straight after kick-off and that is my biggest gripe. Goalscoring has been a problem for four of five years. It has been a big task for this club for a long time. It is an ongoing challenge. It is very unlike us to make that many mistakes. We've gone back to mistakes today and we need to push it aside quickly."
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Key facts
Manchester United's 4-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim is the biggest margin of victory for a permanent manager in their first home match in the competition for the club.
Everton have now failed to score a goal in each of their last four Premier League matches, with their last goal coming on October 26th (v Fulham). The Toffees last had a longer run without a goal in the competition between August and October 2005 (six games).
Rashford's goal (45:20) is Manchester United's fastest second-half goal on record (since 06/07), beating Paul Scholes' goal against Newcastle United in January 2007 (45:23).
Rashford has now scored in back-to-back Premier League matches for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim (3 goals), as many goals as he managed in his previous 23 matches under both Ruud van Nistelrooij and Erik ten Hag.
