Everton's Premier League resurrection was halted on Easter weekend as a ruthless Manchester United display condemned them to just a fourth defeat under Sean Dyche.
Goals from Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial either side of half-time proved to be the difference at Old Trafford as the Blues passed up the opportunity to put further ground between themselves and the clubs rooted in the bottom three.
After a spirited draw against Tottenham Hotspur under the Goodison Park lights earlier in the week extended their unbeaten run to four matches, Everton were somewhat brought back down to reality as a terrific display from Jordan Pickford applied minimal shine to a disappointing afternoon in Greater Manchester.
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Here's how the national media, and the ECHO's Everton correspondent Joe Thomas, reacted to the 2-0 defeat for the Blues.
Jamie Jackson, via the Guardian - "Everton’s keeper could do nothing about United’s second"
"United’s opener came courtesy of Scott McTominay drifting into the type of schemer’s area behind lines that is supposedly beyond a midfielder labelled as functional. But no. The Ten Hag way is to see potential everywhere, unmined gold from the boots of all of his charges. Jadon Sancho is another beneficiary of smart coaching.
"It was he who created McTominay’s first league goal of the campaign: pretty patterns were a United motif throughout and were present in the opener. After Rashford tried and failed to pull the trigger a crowd formed outside the left side of Everton’s area. From here, clever passes in tight spaces were deployed and when Sancho threaded a pass into McTominay, he rifled the ball into the back of Jordan Pickford’s net from a difficult angle.
"Everton’s keeper could do nothing about United’s second, either – Seamus Coleman the culpable one here. Harry Maguire rolled the ball left to Lisandro Martínez and the centre-back launched a 70-yard lob towards Rashford. Coleman allowed the ball to slide under his feet and the Rashford collected it before squaring to Martial who, after composing himself, blazed home."
Joe Bernstein, via the Mail on Sunday - "Everton were culpable in their downfall"
"After 72 minutes, Everton were culpable in their downfall. Lisandro Martinez’s long ball should have been dealt with by Coleman but he allowed it to slide under his feet allowing Rashford to race away.
"The forward, who had gone to the left when Martial replaced Antony, unselfishly squared for the Frenchman to tap in for his first Premier League goal since December.
"It hadn’t been a good few minutes for Coleman who had earlier been involved in a scuffle with McTominay who kneed him in the back, though referee Michael Oliver was able to diffuse the situation before a full-on melee broke out."
Simon Stone, via the BBC - "Pickford will have to stay fit"
"It has been 10 games now since Sean Dyche replaced Frank Lampard in the Goodison Park hot-seat. That period has yielded 12 points and should Everton continue with that average over the final eight games, they should survive - although it would condemn their supporters to a repeat of the nervy end to the season from 12 month ago.
"Evidently, their four remaining games against fellow sides in the relegation scrap will be key and all could yet hinge on the final game of the season at home to Bournemouth. But to even get that far, goalkeeper Pickford will have to stay fit.
"In the first half of this contest, he alone stood between Everton and a hammering that could have been very damaging to their goal difference. There was one save with his trailing leg to deny England colleague Rashford which Pickford knew nothing about. But apart from that, it was a combination of good positioning, agility and alertness that denied the hosts."
Joe Thomas, via the ECHO - "The plan did not work"
"Sean Dyche has a problem to solve and he did not find the answer at Old Trafford.
"Abdoulaye Doucoure’s suspension forced the Blues boss to tinker against Manchester United. This was the first game for which Dyche was unable to call on the Mali international and it meant a change to the line-up that had proved so stubborn in going four games unbeaten.
"It also led to a change in formation as, for the first time in his Everton career, Dyche abandoned 4-5-1 and moved to two up front as he sought to provide support for the incoming striker Ellis Simms.
"The plan did not work. Everton did reach the final half an hour still in this game. And they did create chances. But they were largely overrun by their hosts and, while the Champions League-chasing side will be more formidable opposition than Fulham and Crystal Palace, Everton need to find an effective way of dealing with Doucoure’s absence for those two matches."
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