Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee scored twice each as Manchester United thrashed Everton 4-0 in Ruben Amorim’s first Premier League home game in charge.
Having been held to a 1-1 draw by Ipswich in Amorim’s bow last weekend, Manchester United were transformed as Rashford’s low strike bounced in off Jarrad Branthwaite for a 34th-minute opener after he was picked out by Bruno Fernandes at a corner.
Zirkzee, selected up front for his first Premier League start since September, doubled their lead seven minutes later with a close-range finish from another Fernandes assist after Branthwaite had lost possession in Everton territory.
The visitors had started brightly, with Beto spurning a couple of early opportunities, but their collapse continued only 20 seconds after half-time, when more sloppiness allowed the excellent Amad Diallo to play in Rashford for a well-taken second.
Amad pounced on more slack work from Everton to set up Zirkzee for the fourth, stealing the ball off the toes of James Tarkowski, then charging forward and laying it across to his team-mate, who finished coolly to spark more Old Trafford celebrations.
Zirkzee’s second capped a ruthless showing from Manchester United, who netted their four goals from only five shots on target, the handsome victory moving them up to ninth in the Premier League table and intensifying the woes of their opponents.
Everton are now without a win in five Premier League games, and without a goal in four, their latest defeat keeping them only two points above the relegation zone in 15th place.
For Amorim and his side, though, it was an overwhelmingly positive afternoon to follow Thursday’s Europa League win over Bodo/Glimt, and a performance to give the new era lift-off ahead of their trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Wednesday.
Rashford: I feel energised
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford to Sky Sports:
“Nice result. We have to back this performance up and hopefully win in the week.
“The aim for us all is to get back to our best. And even when you are at your best, you have to push and improve.
“The manager has come in at a very busy period but hopefully we can keep growing the connection and it keeps getting stronger. He has come in with a great attitude and that’s passed on to the players. We are happy.
“Playing at this historic stadium is always an amazing feeling. We want to find consistency in the way we play, and our results, and that is the main focus. It’s early on but I feel energised and ready for the next game.”
Amorim: We have more work to do
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim to Sky Sports:
“The result was good but we were pragmatic. I don’t think it was pretty but we did our job, which is to win. We can still adapt and have a long way to go.
“In the right moments, we had the goals and that changed the game. We don’t just focus on the result.
“We have so much to do but it is better to work with victories. Let’s focus on the performance more.
“It was not a straight line of a top performance, it was a rollercoaster of ups and downs. We had some moments when we were good, and some other moments when he had to suffer.”
