Everton compounded a miserable few days for Manchester United with their biggest ever Premier League win over the sorry Red Devils in a 4-0 rout at Goodison Park.
Just five days on from crashing out of the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Barcelona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side produced a dismal performance to slump to another heavy defeat.
United are two points off fourth but will be three adrift if Arsenal overcome Crystal Palace and the inquest will surely soon begin after a nightmare outing that strikes a huge blow to their hopes of featuring at Europe’s top table next season.
Richarlison had already brought a fine reaction stop from David De Gea on the bounce by the time he opened the scoring.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin flicked on Lucas Digne’s header and the Brazil forward lashed home an unstoppable acrobatic volley.
Marcus Rashford flicked over the top from Paul Pogba’s long punt but United’s situation worsened after 28 minutes.
Everton broke from a United corner, leading to Sigurdsson cutting inside from the left and drilling low into the near corner from 25 yards.
The game was all but done 10 minutes after the break when Digne showed sensational technique on the half-volley to leave De Gea no chance.
Further humiliation was to follow and Sigurdsson carved United open again to play through substitute Walcott, who slotted past De Gea one-on-one to cap off a day to forget for Solskjaer and his team.
Wheels fallen off for Ole?
‘Ole’s at the wheel’ was the chant from the United fans during Solskjaer’s sensational start to life in the dugout at United. But six defeats in eight competitive outings and three straight away league losses for the first time since January 1996 mean the honeymoon period is well and truly over. Out of the Champions League and possibly out of the race for fourth, Solskjaer needs a solution and fast.
Sigurdsson shines in the sun
As bad as United were, Everton deserve credit for running roughshod over them on a glorious Easter Sunday on Merseyside. Sigurdsson was at the heart of the Toffees’ play and finished with a goal and an assist in a performance that was arguably the best they have produced under Marco Silva.
Jones disjointed
United’s performance bordered on embarrassing and singling out the worst showing is no easy feat. But Phil Jones had a particularly difficult afternoon, being dragged from pillar to post during a woeful defensive showing from the Red Devils, who have now conceded their most ever goals in a Premier League campaign.
What’s next?
Everton face a tough trip to Crystal Palace next Saturday, while there is a small matter of the Manchester derby for a despondent United when City visit Old Trafford on Wednesday.
