- As Garnacho’s stunning overhead kick eyes ‘goal-of-the-season’ pick
- Frenchman Anthony Martial opens 2023-24 Premiership goal account
Vintage Anthony Martial finally opened his Premier League goal account for 2023-24 with a superb dinked finish on Sunday as underperforming Manchester United romped to a 3-0 victory over embattled Everton at Goodison Park
It was the Manchester United striker’s first goal of the season. Still struggling for form and fitness, the Frenchman scores a superb goal at Everton to wrap up a 3-0 victory for the Red Devils. With United already 2-0 up at Goodison Park, thanks to a stunning overhead kick from Alejandro Garnacho and a penalty from Marcus Rashford, Martial added extra gloss to the final scoreline with a sublime dinked finish in the 75th minute.
Racing onto a clever Bruno Fernandes’ pass, Martial produced a delicate chip to beat Jordan Pickford in the Everton net. Everton came into the game burning with a sense of injustice over the record 10-point deduction that clearly revived relegation fears just when it seemed Sean Dyche’s side had left such behind with their improved performance in recent times.
On the day, the Erik ten Hag men performed with cool heads and cold intent to savour the biggest win of their improving season as a result. Their previous seven league wins this season had all been by a single‑goal margin but here, an ultimately comfortable victory was built on character plus the clinical touch that their opponents lack.
The result was by no means an anomaly, as the Old Trafford Landlords continue to be one of the Premier League’s most in-form sides on paper, despite still being in sixth place. They have now recorded five wins from six league matches since defeat against Crystal Palace on September 30, beating Brentford, Sheffield United, Fulham, Luton and Everton, with a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City the only blip.
However, according to pundits’ words that do ring true somewhat, sterner tests await Ten Hag in the league and in Europe. The first of these is a crunch Champions League clash on Wednesday. United travel to another hostile atmosphere in Istanbul, where they come up against a Galatasaray side who are also fighting for their European fate. Both teams sit outside the qualification places for the knockouts, meaning rock-bottom United need to get a win.
