The visitors clinched victory through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 18-yard curling strike in the first half. ..Continue Reading
United’s goalkeeper Senne Lammens managed to get a touch on the shot but could only deflect it into the right corner of the goal.
It was a disastrous night for Ruben Amorim’s team, who played most of the match against ten men.
Everton’s Idrissa Gueye was dismissed after VAR ruled he committed a ‘clear strike to the face’ of teammate Michael Keane during a heated on-field altercation.
Despite the numerical advantage, United failed to break Everton down, leaving fans frustrated with the attacking strategy.
Joshua Zirkzee made only his second start of the season, having previously been sidelined by injury and then limited to few minutes upon his return.
His performance against Everton drew criticism from the fanbase.
The Dutch striker had two notable chances to level the score in the second half, with one header aimed at the bottom corner being pushed wide by Jordan Pickford.
Another header was comfortably saved by Pickford, who tipped it over the bar.
One fan wrote: “Zirkzee wanted his opportunity, got it and wasted it!”
A second said: “Leaving Zirkzee on for 90 minutes was a criminally bad decision.”
A third added: “If Zirkzee is the answer, I haven’t got a clue what the question is.”
While a fourth stated: “Zirkzee should leave in January.”
Zirkzee was handed his chance due to injuries to Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha.
Cunha’s injury became public on Saturday when he missed a Christmas lights event alongside Sam Aston, known for playing Chesney Brown on Coronation Street.
Visit Altrincham, the event organiser, announced that Cunha had suffered ‘an accident in training’.
Speaking before the match, Amorim said: “It was a knock in training so I don’t know how long he’s going to be stay out. I think it’s nothing serious, but we cannot risk players.
“We have to show everybody, when you are not 100 per cent, we have a different player to cope with the demands of the game.”
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