It was the Bruno Fernandes show, as Man United brushed away their midweek champions league blues, with a 3-1 away victory over Everton at Goodison Park.
Reeling from a shock 2-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in the UEFA Champions League, a trip to Everton posed a challenge for Solskjaer’s men who started the match in the bottom half of the log.
Brazilian, Bernard was drafted into the starting XI with Richarlison serving a 3 match suspension following a red card and the diminutive winger repaid his manager’s faith by opening the scoring in the 19th minute.
Man United talisman, Bruno Fernandes continued his impressive form, when he scored a header from a Luke Shaw cross in the 25th minute to draw the Red devils level. Fernandes added his second with a curling effort to give Man United the lead.
Everton almost had an instant reply with left-back, Digne hitting the post. The toffees continued to pile the pressure and felt they should have had a penalty in the 65th minute after Maguire brought down Digne in the United box, but VAR ruled no penalty.
Despite Everton holding more possession, it was United who looked more likely to score and should have added to their lead but for a fine stop from Pickford to deny Fred in the 73rd minute.
With both teams searching for a decisive goal, Solskjaer threw in summer signing Edinson Cavani, and the Uruguayan hitman scored his first goal for Man United, following a sweeping counter-attack led by Fernandes, who after a fine run, picked out Cavani, who slotted past Pickford to make it 3-1 in the 5th minute of extra-time, killing off any hopes of an Everton comeback.
The 3-1 victory comes as a sigh of relief for Man United and Solskjaer, who have been under pressure for underperformance this season.
The red devils sit in 13th place with 10 points, 5 points off a top 4 spot.
With Everton losing their last three fixtures, after a brilliant start to the season, Ancelotti will be hoping to use the upcoming international break to bring the toffees back on track.
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