Marcus Rashford scored his fifth goal in as many games after creating two others to help Manchester United beat Everton 3-1 and reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Rashford set up Antony’s early opener on Friday and saw a second-half cross turned into his own net by Conor Coady, scorer of Everton’s equaliser.
Then, in stoppage time, Rashford kept his scoring run going by sending Jordan Pickford the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ben Godfrey fouled Alejandro Garnacho.
United were hardly ruthless, grateful to see a potential Dominic Calvert-Lewin equaliser ruled out for a tight offside call. But United did enough to make it seven straight wins in all competitions for the first time since 2019 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge.
For Everton, there was consolation in a better performance after losing to Brighton 4-1 midweek left it 18th in the Premier League, the pressure firmly on manager Frank Lampard.
Erik ten Hag named a strong side for his first taste of the FA Cup, but notably selected Luke Shaw at centre-back while Lisandro Martinez — without a start since Argentina’s World Cup group game against Mexico on Nov. 26 — joined Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof on the bench.
After the horror show of Tuesday night, Lampard reverted to the 3-5-2 system used to frustrate Manchester City last weekend.
The 9,000 travelling Everton fans arrived in Manchester still fuming over the latest capitulation, the first chant of “Sack the board” coming 15 minutes before kick-off. Their mood did not improve much.
Ten Hag pat
Ten Hag said Rashford can be “unstoppable”. “From the first minute, Marcus showed confidence and belief,” Ten Hag said.
“For 90 minutes he was a threat for the Everton defenders... As a striker, you measure goals and assists — today (Friday) he had two assists and one goal, so it’s great.
“He can work on his weaker foot, on his heading, but on other skills he is very good. It is more about bringing him in the right position and that as a team we create the right spaces for him, so that he can bring his strengths.
“Then he is unstoppable with his speed, his dribbles, his directness... He has fantastic skills and when he has mental stability he can keep going.”
FA probe
England’s Football Association (FA) will investigate alleged homophobic chanting during the match. Some supporters were heard using homophobic language against Everton manager Frank Lampard, who previously played for and managed Chelsea, British media reports said.
“We stand firmly against all forms of discrimination and we are striving to ensure our game is a safe environment for all, which truly embraces diversity and challenges hateful conduct both on and off the pitch,” an FA spokesperson said.
In a statement to British media, United said, “homophobia, like all forms of discrimination, has no place in football.”
