Everton have landed a massive win in their fight for Premier League survival while further harming Manchester United’s flimsy top-four hopes with a hard-earned 1-0 victory.
Anthony Gordon’s shot from the edge of the penalty area in Saturday’s early match at Goodison deflected into the net off the outstretched leg of United defender Harry Maguire in the 27th minute.
It was another lacklustre performance by United, who brought two great saves out of Jordan Pickford – both from efforts by Marcus Rashford – early in the match but were frustrated by some obdurate and at times desperate defending by Everton in the second half.
United stayed three points behind the teams in fourth and fifth place – Tottenham and Arsenal, respectively – and the two London clubs have games in hand.
Things look much more positive, though, for Everton, who bounced back from a demoralising loss at relegation rivals Burnley on Wednesday to move four points clear of the bottom three.
