Key events
61 min Almost vintage Rashford! He runs and runs and then does some dancing before back-heeling to Cunha, who goes down – no pen, says John Brooks.
60 min The hourglass flips over, and Sesko and Grealish wonder when they will come on stage.
59 min Everton push forward with more conviction, roared on by the crowd. Barry has a shot smothered by Shaw, and then Dewsbury-Hall has more time but can’t get a clean connection.
58 min United again counter from the corner, with only slightly more success. Cunha delays his pass and picks the wrong runner – Mbeumo, who has George to race with, rather than Rashford in more space.
57 min Chance for Johnson! A good diagonal ball by Dewsbury-Hall tees up a shot that just loops over.
56 min Garner’s looping corner is headed clear by Mbeumo. United threaten to counter as Rashford advances with the ball, but he and Cunha are not humming the same tune.
54 min Better from Everton, with a spell of possession and a shot from Johnson, well blocked by Shaw. The sparky George wins a corner off Dalot.
53 min United advance, slowly and inconclusively. Their build-up was often too leisurely in the first half, but now it can afford to be. And there will be more gaps as Everton have to take a risk or two.
50 min At one end, a neat turn by Barry yields less than it deserves. At the other, a neat cross from Rashford can’t find a taker.
49 min That goal, which came out of nowhere, was United’s first on the road this season and the first time they’d taken the lead, home or away.
47 min Mainoo, boosted by that assist, charges through the midfield, but Cunha’s lay-off can’t quite reach Rashford. Then Everton bounce back with a cross from the left that would be dangerous if anyone was on the end of it.
GOAL! Everton o-1 Man United (Mbeumo 47)
That’s more like it! Mbeumo, found by Mainoo on the right, runs past three men and curls a left-foot shot into the far corner.
46 min No subs yet. United kick off and go sideways in midfield.
The players are out again, or at least United are. Everton wait in the tunnel as James Tarkowski lobbies John Brooks about something.
On xG, there’s not a lot to separate the teams. Everton 0.34-0.32 United. The United forward line has been the more imposing of the two, but James Garner, who captained their Under-21s before being brainlessly sold to Everton, has been the main man in midfield. And Jarrod Branthwaite, who was coveted by United a couple of summers ago, has been immense in defence.
And I’m late to an early spot from Justin Kavanagh. “Lovely footage from the tunnel,” he said, “of Lammens fixing up his captain’s tracksuit collar while standing behind Fernandes. Now that’s what you like to see in a keeper: an obsession with the little details and a fussiness for positioning and everything in its right place.”
Time for a glance at the post. “The chippy stall in your photo,” says Gary Naylor, “did some very good ones garnished with herbs and chillis a fortnight ago. Hard recomnend.
“It might get some extra trade today as I understand that there may be a ‘Not a pound inside the ground’ boycott. Feels a bit performative that – but protests are.” Very true.
HALF-TIME! Everton 0-0 Man United
No goals, no thrills, but an absorbing encounter. It ought to be 1-1: Cunha should have scored for United and Barry for Everton, only for both attempts to go over the bar when it looked easier to get them on target.
45+3 min One last sortie from United. Cunha slips in Rashford, who is well marshalled by Branthwaite. Another shot from Fernandes, another block – and again it’s Branthwaite, who is quite clearly the man of the last three minutes.
45+1 min Everton are finishing the half with some intensity. Mykolenko sends in a long throw, the ball falls to Branthwaite, whose low shot is on target – and well saved by Lammens, without much of a view.
45 min Barry breaks free down the right, but never manages a cross. There will be three more minutes, thanks to that early knock for Maguire.
44 min United have some possession and a few half-openings, but no shot.
42 min The next bad ball comes from Fernandes. And then Everton have a proper chance! Johnson whips in a cross and Barry again gets his head to it. This header is far more confident … but over the bar.
40 min United get forward, only for Mbeumo to play a loose pass to Cunha. At this rate, Sesko will be getting more than his usual 25 minutes.
39 min Everton have a chance! Well, a quarter-chance. A free kick comes in and Barry rises to it, but his header is a bit woolly.
38 min Will Unwin emailed again a few minutes ago. “Excitingly, half an hour in, Everton’s xG sits at an impressive 0.01, having managed one off-target shot and nothing else. Not a classic of the genre.” Ha.
36 min Rashford beats one man, two men, but not the third man, Tarkowski, who puts the ball out for a corner. A better ball in from Fernandes leads to a brawl in the box and the ball squirts out for a goal kick.
35 min Fernandes’ free kick is tame, Mbeumo’s follow-up cross is even worse, and both are easily headed away.
33 min Cunha plays a one-two with Rashford, who sends him through – to win a free kick as Brennan Johnson brings him down. It’s just outside the area, almost on the byline.
33 min We keep getting 30 seconds of action followed by two and a half minutes of lassitude. Maybe that’s football?
31 min Lammens comes for a cross and fails to make it – but he does have Dewsbury-Hall, unnoticed by John Brooks, sticking an elbow in his throat.
30 min Another cross from Rashford, whipped in hard and well defended by Branthwaite.
28 min Everton knock the ball around in the sunshine. Garner plays two piercing passes, one down the left to Mykolenko, one towards the right to Armstrong, but it all ends in a goal kick.
26 min Garner wins the ball well in midfield and Everton threaten something, which comes to nothing. They’ve had one shot so far to United’s six.