Sir Jim Ratcliffe must be seriously conflicted. Manchester United’s advance towards the riches of the Champions League continued to gather pace under Michael Carrick thanks to the impact of Slovenia’s Benjamin Sesko for the second game in succession. The summer signing came off the bench to condemn Everton to another home defeat with a clinical finish and lift United to fourth in the table, only three points behind Aston Villa.
Sesko, who preserved Carrick’s unbeaten record as United manager last time out at West Ham, was again their savour to settle a hard-fought contest with David Moyes’s side. It is now five wins and one draw from Carrick’s six games in charge. The audition for the permanent job could not have gone much better thus far.
Flat starts have been a feature of Everton’s run of poor home results, but United’s first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium sparked improvement on and off the pitch. Just as Moyes had wanted.
Both teams contributed to a frenetic, intense opening and the crowd responded in kind. Thierno Barry charged down Senne Lammens’s clearance straight from kick‑off, with the United goalkeeper relieved to turn around and see the rebound trickle out for a goal‑kick, while Kobbie Mainoo squeezed a shot past Jordan Pickford from the visitors’ first attack. Fortunately for Everton James Tarkowski was on the ground behind his keeper and scrambled the ball clear in front of the goalline.
