Manchester United were resilient if not convincing as they again drew, this time against Everton at Goodison Park. Rúben Amorim's team had to fight back when the match went two goals down; on that day, it belonged to Bruno Fernandes and Ugarte who rescued them from losing three games consecutively. However, the issue remains that a draw does little justice to the issue at hand, which is the on-going crises of the Red Devils in the Premier League.
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A half to forget
Everton managed to get more concentrated and take advantage of United's slowness in start, with Beto opening the scoring early when a sloppy sequence in the box reached him to hit the back of the net. The visitors were not able to respond to this and easily created openings in defense, from which Abdoulaye Doucouré scored his second by heading within a distance. The fans of Toffees cheered throughout as Amorim's men appeared lost on the field.
In spite of some sporadic efforts, United went into halftime requiring a record comeback to rescue the game. But based on their performance, that appeared to be a long shot.
Bruno Fernandes and Ugarte rescue the evening
After the interval, United was more adventurous, pushing forward in search of a response. Bruno Fernandes, ever the game-changer, curled a lovely free kick to halve the deficit and inject life into the visitors. The goal transformed the atmosphere in the stadium, with Everton's fans looking very nervous.
Ugarte scored the equalizer in the 80th minute with a loose ball on the edge of the box. The midfielder's sublime control finished with a shot that was pinpoint accurate to draw the game level at 2-2. The last few minutes were frantic, filled with opportunities and a VAR check. Everton's penalty was reversed. United, in the end, just managed to escape a loss but did not do anything to inspire confidence.
So what is United's next step?
Although the draw may have offered some temporary relief, it did not mend Manchester United's basic issues. The club remains unsteady, its defense vulnerable and unable to dictate games against organized opposition. Amorim has more to do to make his team not just rely on late heroics in games.
Everton, despite falling short by three points, under David Moyes, showed all the brightest signs of betterment and still struggle to escape the relegation zone. It was a thrilling saga of a game that Goodison Park witnessed, but for United, it posed more questions than answers in the end.