Everton vs Manchester United. Premier League.
Goodison Park.
Report as Bruno Fernandes' first-half double helps Manchester United come from behind to beat Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park in the Premier League; Bernard had given Everton lead early on; Edinson Cavani on target late on with his first goal for United
Sunday 8 November 2020 09:16, UK
Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United came from behind to win 3-1 at Everton and ease the pressure on under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Everton had made the perfect start at Goodison Park as Bernard fired them ahead after 19 minutes on his first Premier League start of the season.
United levelled matters six minutes later thanks to Fernandes' powerful header, with the Portuguese then putting his side ahead when his cross - intended for Marcus Rashford - ended up in the back of the net.
Fernandes capped off a fine individual display when setting up substitute Edinson Cavani for his first United goal in injury time.
As a result, United have moved up to 13th in the table after recording a seventh straight away win in the league - their best run for 27 years - while Everton missed out on the chance to go top after a third loss in a row.
United arrived on Merseyside with all eyes on their under-siege boss after a tough week that had seen them lose to Istanbul Basaksehir and Arsenal, and the knives appeared to be sharpening for the Norwegian when the home team took an early lead.
It was a simple, and worrying, goal to concede from United's point of view as Jordan Pickford's long clearance up field was inadvertently flicked into Bernard's path by Victor Lindelof, with the Brazilian then finding the net with a low drive from the edge of the box.
United, though, showed great character to respond with two Fernandes goals in just seven minutes, the first following a lovely passing move involving Juan Mata and Luke Shaw, whose cross from the left was expertly nodded home by the midfielder.
The visitors soon found themselves ahead after another fine exchange of passes between the impressive Fred, Rashford and Fernandes, who then tried to pick out the England forward's run in the box.
Rashford initially appeared to get the faintest of glances to Fernandes' inviting centre, with the ball ending up in the back of the net via the post, although on further inspection it was revealed to be the Portuguese's goal, not that United cared one jot.
Thereafter, the hosts huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser, without ever really threatening David de Gea's goal, before United sealed their win after a stoppage-time breakaway saw Fernandes set up Cavani to net his first goal for the club.
The win means United have now made a better start to the campaign than they managed last season, when they eventually finished third, while Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has now lost three consecutive league games for the first time since he was in charge of AC Milan 14 years ago.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti: "It was not a good performance in one aspect and that was defensively. After we scored a goal we were not able to defend properly.
"It is quite clearly a problem and we have to sort this."
Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: ""How can you expect players to perform to the best of their ability when you send them out at 12.30pm? Absolute joke.
"A month ago we tried to move this game. What sense is there for us to play on a Saturday when we could play on the Sunday and there is an international break afterwards?"I can't say enough how hard these times are for everyone, not just footballers, and we want to see football with quality.
"Our players were set up to fail today with the schedule. I pushed my club to really fight the kick-off time on this one to give us at least half a chance, but it was quashed."
The United captain has come in for criticism of late after some shaky displays, but there is no doubt he was back to domineering best after this commanding performance at Goodison.
The centre back kept Dominic Calvert-Lewin in check throughout, which is no mean feat given the Everton striker's impressive start to the season, while also using the ball intelligently when needed.
All of which will be a huge relief to both Solskjaer and England manager Gareth Southgate ahead of the upcoming internationals.
After the international break, Everton take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday November 21.
Meanwhile, United face West Brom on the same day, with both games currently scheduled to kick-off at 3pm.
