Everton 1-1 Manchester United: Three things we learnt

By Jake Jackman

Manchester United dropped two points once again in the Premier League after a late Leighton Baines penalty secured Everton a draw against Jose Mourinho’s men. It wasn’t the best game of football, but Manchester United were leading for the majority of the match and they will be disappointed that they failed to capitalise on Manchester City and Liverpool both losing this weekend. Their hopes of a top four finish are dwindling on a weekly basis and they need to go on a run of wins to keep them alive over the Christmas period. Here are three things that we learned from the match at Goodison Park.

Manchester United have been unlucky, but not against Everton

In recent weeks, Manchester United should have picked up a lot more points and have lost ground on the leading pack due to poor finishing. That wasn’t the case at Goodison Park as they didn’t create too many chances after taking the lead and always left the possibility for Everton to get back into the game, which they did. Ander Herrera had the only real chance of the second half, which he smashed against the woodwork.

Although they should have seen the game out, their failure to increase their lead was the main reason that they didn’t take the three points. Everton were there for the taking and United failed to capitalise on their dominance and put the game beyond doubt. They had the players on the pitch to create chances, but they failed to do so and that will concern Jose Mourinho. There are still many issues for the ex Chelsea boss to correct and time isn’t on his side if they are to qualify for the Champions League.