Manchester United ended their two-match losing run in the Premier League after claiming a 2-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored from penalty spots to make Everton’s Premier League losing streak 11 games long.
With the win, United is now just eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth place and three behind Tottenham in fifth.
Despite having played two more games than Luton, who are currently in 18th place, Everton’s defeat leaves them just five points above the relegation zone.
Erik ten Hag’s team’s push for a spot in the top four had been derailed by back-to-back losses to Fulham and Manchester City.
However, the Red Devils took advantage of Everton’s errors to get closer to their rivals and secure a return to the Champions League when Villa and Tottenham squared off on Sunday.
During their most recent meeting in November, Alejandro Garnacho scored a goal that could have been goal of the season with an incredible overhead kick.
Once more, the Argentine made the difference between the two teams as his deft footwork prompted two spot-kicks.
On minute ten, Fernandes scored his eighth goal of the year, luring James Tarkowski, the first Everton defender, into an ill-advised challenge.
Everton’s struggle to score goals has persisted throughout the season, and the Toffees are no strangers to this story.
After just three minutes, Ben Godfrey and Amadou Onana should have opened the score.
Dwight McNeil then attempted to try his luck three times, with his closest attempt flashing inches wide.
Andre Onana made a spectacular save to deny James Garner even after the visitors managed to find the target.
Rather, another self-inflicted blow soon had them trailing by two.
Before Godfrey chopped him down, Garnacho danced his way through a series of trials on the edge of the box.
Like he did at Goodison Park earlier in the season, Fernandes gave Rashford the task of handling penalties.
Jordan Pickford could not stop his England international colleague from scoring his sixth goal in as many Premier League outings.
Pickford was successful in limiting the score when he stopped Fernandes’ second goal from a low drive that was heading into the bottom corner and a well-struck free kick.
Garnacho wasted numerous opportunities to score a goal in addition to his two penalty kicks.
However, Everton’s even greater lack of foresight allowed them to bail out United.
This season, United has allowed 16 or more shots on goal in 28 league games, which is the 16th time this has happened.
However, Everton was unable to convert any of their 20 attempts into points.
In stoppage time, Everton was on the verge of conceding a third penalty when Jarrad Branthwaite knocked Rashford down, but the offside flag saved them.
Photo by EPA/ASH ALLEN
