Well that is not what Manchester United fans expected. After the excitement of signing Robin van Persie, United went out and were second best to an Everton side that won every 50-50 challenge all over the pitch.
United had no answer to Marouane Fellaini all night, am it was Fellaini who was finally rewarded for an outstanding display with the winning goal in the 57th minute. Darron Gibson swung over a corner and Fellaini left Michael Carrick sprawling on the turf to power home a header. Why Carrick was marking Fellaini on the corner and not Vidic is a question for Sir Alex.
The score could easily have been worse for United was it not for a couple of outstanding saves by David De Gea.
After Fellani’s goal, Tom Cleverley had a shot cleared off the line, before Fergie brought on United’ new signing and league player of the 2011/12 season Robin van Persie. However, RVP barely touched the ball and the Everton defence held firm, frustrating Manchester United and taking a deserved three points.
Everton had the third best defensive record in the Premier League last season and they look tough to score against again this season. If they can get goals from Nikica Jelavic and new signing Kevin Mirallas then they could well be a top fix or six team this season.
As for United this was a really poor display. Shinji Kagawa looked good at times but he kept drifting into the middle, and with Nani having a stinker on the right, United had no width, making it easy for Everton to defend against.
Fergie needs to spend some more time on the training ground getting his players used to playing together before they fall too far behind pacesetters Manchester City.
