5 talking points from Manchester United’s comfortable win over Everton

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes (R) vies with Everton's Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on April 8, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Manchester United picked up another three points at home with a 2-0 win over Everton to consolidate our place in the Premier League top four place.

Thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial, United secured a comfortable victory, but it could have been 3, 4 or 5-0.

Here are three talking points from United’s 2-0 win over Everton.

Need to be more clinical

While this doesn’t solely apply to this game because everyone knows Erik ten Hag wants an elite-level striker in the summer, United need to be more clinical and ruthless in front of goal. The Reds had 29 shots on goal, 11 of those on target, and just two hitting the back of the net.

It was still a performance the manager can take a lot from, especially given how his team has now won two matches on the bounce since losing to Newcastle a week ago.

A dominant display against Everton, but not a clinical one.

Eriksen is back… with Casemiro to follow

Everyone at Old Trafford was delighted to see Christian Eriksen back in the match day squad. The Dane received a warm applause as he warmed up on the touchline and that is because United have missed his creativity in the middle.

Eriksen came on with 15 minutes left on the clock, and with Casemiro’s ban now over, we can look forward to seeing our strongest midfield in action.

Maybe against Sevilla on Thursday night?

Bruno Fernandes was the best player on the pitch

Ten Hag has deployed Fernandes in a number of different midfield roles this season. It shows how much he trusts the Portuguese Magnifico.

Just like he did on Wednesday night against Brentford, Fernandes pulled the strings from a deeper role in the middle. He did well to control the tempo of the game and helped with a lot of transitions from defence to attack.

You could say Fernandes filled a void left by Casemiro against Everton.

Marcus Rashford concern

United’s best player this season was unable to add to his tally for the season. It probably did help that Marcus Rashford’s afternoon came to an end in the second half as he pulled up holding his groin area. We are all hoping it’s not a serious long-term injury.

Another clean sheet for Dave

Ten Hag may have made three changes at the back, but United still finished the game with a clean sheet. That means David de Gea has joined Newcastle’s Nick Pope at the top of the Golden Glove table on 13 clean sheets this season.

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