Izuchukwu Okosi
Manchester United on Friday evening beat Everton 3-1 in the Third Round of the FA Cup to advance to the fourth round of the competition but the defeat is made worse for the Evertonians with an injury to Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi.
The defeat adds to the misery of manager Frank Lampard whose losing streak seems not to have an end in sight.
United went 1-0 up just four minutes into the game when Marcus Rashford floated a cross into the box and Antony stretched to bundle the ball home from close range.
Moments later and Martial almost made it two after a mistake by Everton’s defense gave the ball away in a dangerous area. Unfortunately, Martial’s shot was wide.
United was attacking well, a beautiful ball from Fernandes was curled to the feet of Rashford, who danced into the box but he couldn’t get his shot away.
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Against the run of play, Everton found an equalizer as it snuck in through the melee of bodies and between David de Gea‘s legs.
All of United’s attacks were coming down the left and Martial forced a good save from Pickford but unfortunately, the Reds couldn’t make anything off the corner.
Everton grew into the game with Nigeria international Alex Iwobi making a superb block albeit he almost undid his good work by losing possession of the ball a few sends later leading to a blistering counterattack from United players.
A tussle on the byline ensued as Rashford tried to keep the ball in and an Everton defender left a leg in there.
Rashford made a brilliant interception and went on a blistering run but his shot from outside the box was well saved.
After getting out of a tricky spot in the corner, United found Eriksen in acres of space on the edge of the box, but his shot, which was searching for the top corner was high and wide.
Shortly after the restart and United managed to retake the lead as Rashford brilliantly took on the defense to break into the box and square it but it was Cody who turned it into his own net.
Luckily for the Reds, Malacia made a good challenge but it came at a cost – for Everton – and potentially the Nigerian national team.
The Super Eagles star seemed to roll his ankle from Malacia’s tackle and required a stretcher as he was clearly in pain from the foul.
Everton went on the attack and as it came into the box, De Gea stuck out a leg to direct it away from danger.
At the other end, a training ground free kick routine almost resulted in a goal as Fernandes fired in centrally and Pickford was forced to tip it over the bar.
Everton came back again but luckily for the Reds, it was ruled out for offside by VAR.
Rashford who has been adjudged the Man of the Match stepped up to concert a late United penalty after Alejandro Garnacho was fouled inside the box by Ben Godfrey.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
