Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored first-half penalties as Manchester United bounced back from defeat to Manchester City with a 2-0 win over struggling Everton at Old Trafford.
Alejandro Garnacho won both spot-kicks with Fernandes coolly converting the first of them before handing the second to Rashford, allowing the winger to find the net for a second successive game after his long-range stunner in last weekend’s derby.
Manchester United’s performance was sloppy at times but Everton’s wastefulness in front of goal ensured it was a comfortable victory for Erik ten Hag’s side, putting them within three points of fifth-placed Tottenham, who have two games in hand.
Sean Dyche’s side finished the game with 23 shots to Manchester United’s 15 – the most by an away side at Old Trafford all season – but once again demonstrated a glaring lack of cutting edge in front of goal as their Premier League winless run stretched to 11 games – equalling a club record set in 1994.
The Toffees remain 16th, five points above the drop zone, but defeat gives their relegation rivals a chance to reduce the gap.
How Man Utd punished wasteful Everton
The injury-hit hosts reached half-time two goals to the good but their first-half performance was beset by sloppiness as they repeatedly gifted possession to Everton in their own half.
Dwight McNeil, Amadou Onana, and Ben Godfrey were among those to spurn chances for the visitors, however, and, up at the other end, they were punished by the dangerous Garnacho.
The first penalty was won when he shimmied away from James Tarkowski, drawing a clear foul from the Everton centre-back, with Fernandes putting the spot-kick out of Jordan Pickford’s reach to notch his first Premier League goal since November.
Garnacho was then clumsily brought down in the box for a second time, with Godfrey the culprit. Fernandes’ unconventional decision to give the spot-kick to Rashford paid off as the 26-year-old sent Pickford the wrong way following a stuttering run-up.
Pickford made a stunning save from a Fernandes free-kick in between the two penalties, with Manchester United becoming more threatening as the half went on.
The hosts had more opportunities after the break, mostly on the counter-attack, with Garnacho not quite able to turn home a low cross by Fernandes from one of several chances and Victor Lindelof seeing a close-range effort repelled following a corner.
Everton, meanwhile, continued to find space in the Manchester United half to no avail, with Abdoulaye Doucoure seeing a near-post effort saved by Andre Onana and Dominic Calvert-Lewin failing to turn home a cross-shot by fellow substitute Lewis Dobbin.
Calvert-Lewin also sent a free header from a corner straight at Onana as Everton continued to pepper the United goal, but their bluntness was such that there was no real sense of jeopardy for the hosts as the second half meandered towards its conclusion.
The win, much-needed after back-to-back Premier League defeats against Fulham and Manchester City, boosts Manchester United’s European hopes. For winless Everton, meanwhile, at risk of getting sucked back into trouble, the picture looks increasingly bleak.