Benjamin Sesko came off the bench to score another winner as Manchester United beat Everton to strengthen their claims for Champions League football next season.
The Slovenian forward finished a brilliant counter-attack to earn United victory in a game of few chances, with that strike — and the move that led to it — the one real moment of quality in an otherwise underwhelming game.
It is a fifth win in six matches for interim head coach Michael Carrick, whose decision to introduce Sesko helped change the course of this game.
Carl Anka analyses the main talking points from Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Is Sesko forcing his manager’s hand?
There had been clamour to include Sesko from the start after his stoppage-time winner against Fulham was followed up by a late equaliser at West Ham United in their last league outing.
“He’s taking big steps, even in the short time we’ve been together,” Carrick said before the game. “And he’s in a good place. There’s a little bit of being, I wouldn’t say, careful. I think this is managing it as well.”
Despite those “big steps”, Carrick kept the 22-year-old on the bench for this trip to Everton, only introducing him in the 58th minute.
With Amad Diallo taken off, Sesko was employed as more of a target man up front.
He was afforded more time to impact the game this time (32 minutes rather than 21 at West Ham) and his presence was quickly felt.
He helped kickstart a promising counter-attack in the 67th minute along with Matheus Cunha, but the Brazil international squandered a two-on-one as the pair burst into the final third. Sesko was open, to the left of Cunha and hoping for a quick through ball, but his team-mate dallied at a crucial moment before losing possession.
It did not take long for Cunha to correct his mistake. Four minutes later, he picked the ball up deep in his own half and released Bryan Mbeumo on the right with a delicious long pass that left Everton scrambling.
Mbeumo — who had moved over to the right wing following Sesko’s introduction — found the striker with a relatively simple pass.
Sesko’s goal was the sort of authoritative one-touch finish fans crave from their strikers. His continued form is becoming hard to ignore for Carrick. Should the Slovenian start against Crystal Palace on Sunday?
Is Lammens’ temperament as crucial as his ability?
It is Sesko who will capture the headlines, but the contribution of Senne Lammens should not be overlooked. The Belgian finished regulation time having made three saves, and four high claims of the ball.
The goalkeeper started the game in less-than-impressive fashion, with his first kick seconds into the match closed down by a charging Thierno Barry. Fortunately, the ball cannoned away to safety.
The 23-year-old has calmness under pressure that allows him to shrug off smaller errors in a way that would disrupt the likes of Andre Onana and Altay Bayındir.
In the 83rd minute, he made his best save of the game, stretching to paw away a long-range effort from Michael Keane. As Everton looked to pack bodies and crosses into the box, it was Lammens standing strong, punching corners away and halting the home side’s momentum.
“Vital moments in the game, he’s made saves,” was Eric Steele’s assessment to Talk of the Devils last week. “Because you have to have that total focus, total concentration. You never switch off.”
The former United goalkeeping coach knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a No 1 in highly pressured circumstances. Lammens capped his performance off with a sensible save to stop Tyrique George in the 92nd minute. United look stronger with him in the team.
Are injuries contributing to a lack of creativity?
In the 29th minute, Bruno Fernandes progressed the ball down the right half-space and put his hand out in a brief gesture as if to say: “Where are my options?”
His team-mates failed to respond in the required time, so the captain turned away from Jordan Pickford’s goal to better shield the ball from any incoming challenge. A chance to break down Everton’s defence fizzled out before it got going. It was a small moment that summed up some of United’s struggles in this game.
The tactical problems evident in the draw at West Ham were still on show at times here. Carrick’s men were too narrow, too static and too ordinary on the ball for long periods.
Injuries have made it difficult for the interim head coach to soothe this issue. He was without Lisandro Martinez due to a calf injury revealed hours before kick-off, and his side sorely missed his press resistance and ball progression in deeper areas.
Patrick Dorgu is unlikely to return from his hamstring injury until mid-April and United’s left wing has become more pedestrian without his input. For all of Cunha’s many talents, his inclination to cut inside and hunt for the ball within the left half-space risks congesting areas inside and around the opponent’s penalty box.
In successful matches under Carrick, his players cluster into small spaces before pinging quick passes together and zipping through the thirds. For the first hour against Everton, United lacked the pace and precision needed to work around a stodgy defence.
There was even a moment when we saw a glimpse of the old Fernandes, after he steered an effort high over Pickford’s crossbar. When the ball went out of play, he spun around and protested with referee Darren England, as if to ask for a corner. It was a return to a previous version of the Portuguese, a less patient, more impulsive edition that would grow frustrated when he had too much to do in games where team-mates couldn’t reach his creative levels.
It was a sign of United’s struggles until the second-half changes shifted the momentum in their favour and Sesko, helped by Cunha’s exquisite pass, made his telling contribution.
What next?
Sunday, March 1: Crystal Palace (home), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET