Roberto Martinez trumps David Moyes in historic Toffees win

Everton players celebrate after a famous win at Old Trafford

It was another game to remember for Everton’s stand-in left-back Bryan Oviedo as he grabbed the only goal of the game to ensure that Roberto Martinez as Toffees manager accomplished something that David Moyes never did in his tenure at the club–win.

Key Stats

United edged possession on the day and even had more shots on target in what was a fantastic game of football, but they failed to make the most of it. Both teams had chance after chance to find the back of the net, but good last-ditch defending, as well as wasteful finishing, kept the game scoreless only until late in the second half.

Interestingly enough, Oviedo’s goal came as a result of United switching off momentarily, despite defending well up to that point. No one watched the Costa Rican as he made his way into the box to latch on to Romelu Lukaku’s mishit shot.

Man of the Match

Speaking of the Costa Rican, his goal helped him earn a game-high Performance Score of 81 points. He tried to contribute to his team’s attack by getting forward on the overlap and attempting four crosses. His deliveries weren’t spot on in this game, but he showed that there is more to his game than crossing. His good movement is what enabled him to grab his second goal in two games.

Defensively, he was solid, doing well to cope with the threat that Antonio Valencia and then Adnan Januzaj posed. The four successful tackles he put in was the joint most made in the game along with his captain Phil Jagielka. He has played just two full games at left-back, but he is already making a good account of himself in Leighton Baines’ absence. Even the injured Englishman must be proud.

Performance Score

The chart accurately reflects how tight this game was. It was end-to-end stuff as both teams went at each other in an attempt to nab the first goal. Late in the second half, however, United pegged Everton back and should’ve even gone ahead, but wasted their chances. They paid for it in the end, as Everton sucker-punched them. Lukaku’s assist was a fortunate one, in truth, but Everton had played well enough to deserve that goal and, ultimately, the win.

Key Observations

Everton are really progressing under Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard’s appointment was met with widespread doubt due to his travails at Wigan Athletic, but he has done well so far to answer his critics. The Toffees have only lost once so far in the league. No other team can say that.

Manchester United are still struggling to get going under David Moyes. They played well here, but ended up costing themselves points as they wasted good chances and switched off at the back for Oviedo’s goal. With Arsenal and company continuing to rack up the wins, the Scot needs to get his team on track and soon, otherwise a top four spot will eventually be out of reach.

Marouane Fellaini actually had a decent game alongside Ryan Giggs. He still showed a tendency to be clumsy and reckless in the challenge, but made some key interceptions in midfield. It was a performance on which he can build.

Chris Smalling is coming of age in defence. He put in some solid displays out of position at right-back, and played well in central defence here alongside Nemanja Vidic.