Poor defending sends Frank Lampard’s Toffees out of FA Cup
Marcus Rashford led Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Everton on Friday night as the pressure continued to rise on Frank Lampard.
United boss Erik ten Hag made a statement with a strong starting line-up for the third-round tie, able to call upon Antony and Anthony Martial up front while Lampard had to leave Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the bench due to fatigue.
Despite lining up in a 5-4-1 formation, Everton looked porous at the back and were under the cosh instantly.
It took just three minutes for Rashford to burst down the line, shown onto his left by Ben Godfrey, and roll a ball deep into the six-yard box for Antony to slide home.
Martial threatened a second as Everton looked at sixes and sevens, and yet that was nothing compared to the hapless defending that brought about their equaliser.
Demarai Gray’s hit from distance smacked the post and off the back of David De Gea, who fortuitously saw the ball land the right side of his woodwork and out for a corner.
Yet the goalkeeper found no favours in his dodgy footwork from Neal Maupay’s cross into the near post moments later, which squeezed between his legs for Conor Coady to nudge home.
The quality of defending failed to increase as Jordan Pickford smartly denied the all-too-free Martial an instant reply.
While Everton and Demarai Gray in particular threatened on the break, United were generally on top with plenty of threat in the transition and when building up more gradually.
The visitors crowding the box often meant the final ball was deprived of finding its target, so it was little surprise when Christian Eriksen fired off from distance and nearly beat Pickford with a fine, but just-too-high, curling effort.
Everton suffered a nightmare start to the second half as Alex Iwobi suffered a painful ankle injury when on the end of a toughbut-legal challenge from Tyrell Malacia. Evidently in agony, the midfielder held his shirt over his face as he was taken off on a stretcher.
The Toffees had simply not got going again when Rashford darted down the left, dribbled along the byline and put in a low cross that Coady deflected into his own net.
United enjoyed a long spell on top but failed to really test Pickford in search of a third to kill the tie and were almost punished just after the hour mark when Seamus Coleman’s cross was toed by De Gea into Vitaliy Mykolenko’s path, only for his shot to be blocked off the line.
Their biggest escape came shortly after Calvert-Lewin was introduced for the final 20 minutes, the striker smartly bundling home Gray’s cross after the winger left Malacia for dead. However, the 9,500 away fans’ cheers were cut short by a marginal VAR call in the build-up.
Barcelona looks to find its stride when it visits Atlético
A poor run after the World Cup break has left Barcelona coach Xavi concerned ahead of the match against Atlético Madrid in the Spanish league this weekend.
Barcelona visits Atlético on Sunday reeling from two disappointing performances, including a home draw against rival Espanyol that cost the team sole possession of the league lead.
It also struggled against third-division club Intercity in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, when it relinquished the lead three times before eventually advancing in extra time.
"We can't be happy," Xavi said. "We have lacked effectiveness both in attack and in defense. That worries me. Especially in attack. It can happen in defense, but not in attack."
To add to Xavi's concerns, he won't be able to count on suspended leading striker Robert Lewandowski against Atlético. The league top scorer, Lewandowski played against Espanyol after Barcelona appealed his three-game suspension from before the World Cup, but a court on Wednesday upheld the suspension and the Poland striker will miss the next three league games.
"I still haven't thought about who will be the 'No. 9' on Sunday," Xavi said.
The likely replacement for Lewandowski will be Ferran Torres or Memphis Depay, who both started in the 4-3 win against minnow Intercity on Wednesday. Torres has played often off the bench and sometimes as a starter, while Depay has had only a few appearances this season.
Ansu Fati started against Espanyol and came off the bench against Intercity to score the winner in extra time. He is set to start again on Sunday at Metropolitano Stadium.
The 1-1 draw against Espanyol left Barcelona tied on points with Real Madrid at the top of the standings. The powerhouses are nine points ahead of third-placed Real Sociedad and 11 points in front of fourth-placed Atlético, which recently ended a poor run of results from before the World Cup.
It defeated last-placed Elche 2-0 to end a three-game winless streak in the league before the break. It advanced past second-division Oviedo 2-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
"We have to stop losing points in the league," said Marcos Llorente, who scored one of the goals against Oviedo. "We need a victory to start moving up. That Lewandowski won't play is bad luck for them. He is a great player."