Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off in the Premier League sees two famous teams face off in the latest instalment of a fixture that’s provided some great games over the last few years. In the first of our new Back In Five series, we look back over the last five Everton home league games against Manchester United.
Everton 3-1 Manchester United, 20.2.2010
The last time Manchester United visited Goodison Park, Everton’s young talent struck a blow for the away side’s title rivals in a very impressive 3-1 win. It all seemed to be going to plan for Alex Ferguson’s United when Dimitar Berbatov scored a typical Dimitar Berbatov goal a little over 15 minutes into the game, killing the ball with unswerving control before thrashing it in from close range.
From then on, United were second best. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov’s superb strike from distance levelled the game three minutes later and late goals from Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell earned maximum points for the Toffees as they pushed in vain for a European place.
Everton 1-1 Manchester United, 25.10.2008
United had the better of it when these two sides met during the 08/09 season, but the points were shared. Tim Howard took the plaudits after a successful afternoon’s work, but he was beaten halfway through the first half when Darren Fletcher latched on to a ball from Ryan Giggs to make it 1-0. With Everton back in contention in the early part of the second period, it was the hosts who grabbed the second goal through a towering header by Marouane Fellaini. Wayne Rooney’s latest return to Goodison was an unhappy one that was ended when he was substituted in order to avoid a likely red card.
Everton 0-1 Manchester United, 15.9.2007
Everton have been known to take a right old kicking early on in the season, but recently they’ve always given United a game. This one was settled by just one goal and it came both late and from a set piece. Nemanja Vidic was the man who headed United to three points from an 83rd minute Nani corner. Both managers expressed their admiration afterwards for United’s defenders, so perhaps it was fitting that the monstrous Serb settled matters.
Everton 2-4 Manchester United, 28.4.2007
In April 2007, United and Chelsea were neck and neck in the title race. Chelsea slipped up against Bolton on the day Alex Ferguson’s side visited Goodison, and it looked as if the Red Devils were heading the same way. But after conceding goals scored by Alan Stubbs and Manuel Fernandes, United roared back in emphatic fashion. John O’Shea pounced on an error by Everton’s stand-in goalkeeper to pull one back before Phil Neville’s own goal equalised. Wayne Rooney made it 3-2 on his old home ground and the win was secured by Chris Eagles, whose confident finish gave us an early glimpse of what’s he’s capable of.
Everton 0-2 Manchester United, 13.8.2005
On the opening day of the 2005/06 season, Manchester United put in a good performance to beat the Toffees 2-0 but they might not have had it all their own way. Ruud van Nistelrooy opened the scoring just before the break, but United’s second was both memorable and all of Everton’s own making. Joseph Yobo somehow conspired to pass the ball across the defence and right into the path of former Everton forward Wayne Rooney, who made no mistake in securing the three points for United.
Tags: Everton, Manchester United