Everton 1-1 Manchester United: 3 talking points as United's unbeaten streak comes to an end | Premier League 2019-20
Everton continued their unbeaten run at the Goodison Park under Carlo Ancelotti as they held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw in tonight's Premier League fixture.
The Toffees were one goal up just three minutes into the game thanks to a howler from David de Gea, whose clearance from a simple back pass ricocheted off the incoming Dominic Calvert-Lewin straight into the back of the empty net.
The early goal got the Evertonians in the stands going and set the tone for the rest of the match. It was a dominant first-half performance from the hosts and they looked dangerous every time they had the ball in the opposition half. The United defenders also made multiple errors in the early stages of the game.
New signing Bruno Fernandes once again proved to be the difference-maker for the visitors as he beat Jordan Pickford with a powerful, swerving shot from outside of the box in the 31st minute.
Some late drama ensued when Everton had a potentially winning goal denied in the injury time by a VAR recheck. Manager Carlo Ancelotti was then shown a red card as he protested against the ruling soon after the final whistle.
On that note, we shall now take a look at the three talking points from the game.
#3 David de Gea's howler puts his spot at the EURO 2020 with Spain in jeopardy
Just two seasons ago Manchester United No. 1 David de Gea was one of the safest pairs of hands across all European leagues. But last season he kept only seven clean sheets in the league, his lowest tally during his time at the club, and he has not been able to shrug off that poor run of form since.
In today's fixture, he gifted Everton an early lead when he made a mess of a routine back pass. De Gea dawdled on the ball for far too long and only managed to hit the ball directly into the path of Calvert-Lewin.
Though he made a crucial save in injury time to deny Sigurdsson, it was not enough to make up for his horrendous mistake in the early stages of the game.
De Gea has lost his assured starting position in the Spanish national side to Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in recent times. He only started in three of the 10 EURO Qualifiers for La Roja, and his propensity to concede goals from silly mistakes does not bode well for his chances at the main event later this year.
De Gea has just seven clean sheets this season, which is two more than Kepa, but if he is to regain his spot, he needs to step up his game.