Everton 4-0 Manchester United: 5 factors that contributed to United's downfall
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been under the scanner recently due to United's woeful run of form. The Red Devils had lost three of their five games in all competitions ever since the Norwegian was announced as the permanent manager. Their recent form has not been too good - United have lost five of their last seven games in all competitions.
In the Premier League, recent defeats at the hands of Arsenal and Wolves had crippled United's chances of finishing in the top 4. And Everton were no pushovers either; even though their away form has been poor, they had been fantastic at home.
The Toffees had defeated Chelsea and Arsenal recently, while also managing a draw against bitter rivals Liverpool. But Solskjaer needed a win at all cost on Sunday and named his team accordingly.
He started with De Gea in goal, with Lindelof, Smalling, Jones, and Dalot making up the back four. The midfield saw Matic return to partner Fred and Pogba, while up front, Lukaku partnered Rashford and Martial in the attack.
But the away side was under sieze right from kick off. Everton scored two in each half and ended up 4-0 winners. For Solskjaer, it was an outing to forget, as his team had one of their worst performances of the season. Here are 5 reasons why Manchester United lost the game
#5 Team Selection
Solskjaer had a selection headache before the start of the game. His team was coming off a midfield battering at the hands of Barcelona that had left them exhausted. He also had Manchester City in midweek to worry about.
With Luke Shaw suspended and Young’s despicable performance of late, Solskjaer opted to start with Dalot as the left back and Lindelof as the right back. It was a move that crippled United. Lindelof was United’s best centre-back and moving him to a different position hurt the integrity of the team and the player.
Dalot too did not perform well either. The young Portuguese was a shadow of himself and looked nervous on the left side. He was directly responsible for the first goal and never redeemed himself in the game.