Premier League
Man Utd1Everton0

Manchester United 1-0 Everton

Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial's goal was the 1,000th Manchester United have scored at Old Trafford in the Premier League

Anthony Martial's winning goal kept Manchester United in the chase for a Champions League place on the day they named a stand after Sir Bobby Charlton.

Martial turned in Tim Fosu-Mensah's cross from close range early in the second half to send Everton to a third straight Premier League defeat.

Phil Jagielka headed against the bar for the visitors, and later had a snapshot saved by David De Gea.

Victory leaves United one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

Young generation gives Sir Bobby victory

Sir Bobby Charlton
United announced in February that the stand would be renamed in Charlton's honour

Manchester United's modern-day young players combined to set up victory on a day when the club honoured as great a home-grown talent as they have ever had.

Before kick-off, the South Stand was renamed after Sir Bobby Charlton, the Busby Babe who won the 1966 World Cup with England, and who remains United's record goalscorer.

Accompanied by his wife Norma, a visibly emotional Charlton watched from the pitch before kick-off as fans held up sheets to spell out his name.

The United team of 2016 follows strongly in the club's tradition of blooding young players - three of which were involved in the goal that provided a breakthrough after a turgid first half.

Sir Bobby Charlton
The fans in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand - on the opposite side of Old Trafford - paid their tribute before the match

Marcus Rashford has been a revelation since breaking into the United team in February; scoring four times in his first two appearances and hitting the winner at Manchester City two weeks ago.

This time, his backheel freed fellow academy graduate Fosu-Mensah to play a low ball across goal, which 20-year-old Martial - signed from Monaco for an initial fee of £36m in September - touched in at the far post.

From his seat in the stand, Charlton applauded warmly, a smile breaking across his face.

Alan Keegan, Sir Bobby Charlton, Norma Charlton
Charlton was accompanied on the pitch by his wife Norma and stadium announcer Alan Keegan

United grind out victory

The result will have been pleasing for Charlton, but this was a far from fluent United performance in a largely forgettable match.

For the 10th time in the Premier League this season, a first half at Old Trafford ended goalless, and there was not a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Everton just shaded that first half, with Marcos Rojo struggling at left-back against the pace of Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu.

United improved after taking the lead, but were never entirely comfortable and - in addition to Jagielka's two near-misses - escaped when the classy Fosu-Mensah made a brilliant clearance almost underneath his own bar to clear Seamus Coleman's low cross.

However, it was a second successive 1-0 victory for manager Louis van Gaal, which keeps his team firmly in contention to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Stones stumbles on return

John Stones
John Stones' only previous start since late January had been against West Ham on 5 March

It was a mixed afternoon for Everton defender John Stones, making only his second club start since late January as he attempts to ride through the trickiest spell of his young career to date.

A target for Chelsea last summer, Stones has had to watch on for much of the last two months as Ramiro Funes Mori has partnered Jagielka at centre-back.

Stones has been criticised for errors made when trying to play out from the back; the latest of which came with England on Tuesday, as a slip allowed the Netherlands to begin the move from which they earned a penalty in a 2-1 win.

The 21-year-old showed he still has plenty of confidence on the ball, and made a superbly-timed challenge to deny Martial in the first half.

However, he was at fault for United's winner, as both he and Coleman switched off to allow Martial space at the far post, and Everton fell to only their second away league defeat of the season.

John Stones
Stones' heat map shows that he is still comfortable crossing the halfway line, despite the criticism he has faced

Man of the match: Daley Blind (Manchester United)

Daley Blind
The Netherlands international cannot match Romelu Lukaku for pace but, playing as a centre-back, did a great job of keeping Everton's 25-goal top scorer quiet

What they said

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Man Utd 1-0 Everton: Roberto Martinez disappointed to concede 'soft' goal

Everton manager Roberto Martinez: "There were two games within a game. Up until the goal, we were the team with a better tempo and we always looked a threat.

"The goal was a very soft action, it's not up to our standards. The performances were very, very level and we shouldn't have lost the game. It's that sort of game that came down to small margins - the ball hitting the crossbar is the difference between us getting something out of the game.

"We are a young group with great potential, but our home form hasn't been anywhere near good enough."

What next?

Manchester United travel to second-placed Tottenham in the Premier League next Sunday before an FA Cup quarter-final replay at West Ham three days later. Everton face a league trip to Watford next Saturday, and then to Crystal Palace the following Wednesday.

Line-ups

Man Utd

  • 1de Gea
  • 36Darmian
  • 12SmallingBooked at 61mins
  • 17BlindSubstituted forA Valenciaat 82'minutes
  • 5RojoSubstituted forFosu-Mensahat 45'minutes
  • 16CarrickSubstituted forHerreraat 58'minutes
  • 8Mata
  • 35LingardBooked at 90mins
  • 28Schneiderlin
  • 9Martial
  • 39Rashford

Substitutes

  • 7Depay
  • 18Young
  • 20Romero
  • 21Herrera
  • 25A Valencia
  • 27Fellaini
  • 51Fosu-Mensah

Everton

  • 1Robles
  • 23Coleman
  • 5Stones
  • 6Jagielka
  • 3Baines
  • 16McCarthy
  • 20BarkleySubstituted forNiasseat 87'minutes
  • 15Cleverley
  • 19DeulofeuSubstituted forMirallasat 63'minutes
  • 10Lukaku
  • 12Lennon

Substitutes

  • 8Oviedo
  • 9Koné
  • 11Mirallas
  • 14Niasse
  • 17Besic
  • 24Howard
  • 25Funes Mori
Referee:
Andre Marriner
Attendance:
75,341

Match Stats

Home TeamMan UtdAway TeamEverton
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home10
Away7
Shots on Target
Home2
Away1
Corners
Home5
Away5
Fouls
Home15
Away6

Live Text

Match ends, Manchester United 1, Everton 0.

Full Time

Second Half ends, Manchester United 1, Everton 0.
Antonio Valencia (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Oumar Niasse (Everton).

Booking

Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Jesse Lingard (Manchester United).
John Stones (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Juan Mata (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Antonio Valencia.
Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Anthony Martial.

Substitution

Substitution, Everton. Oumar Niasse replaces Ross Barkley.
Hand ball by Romelu Lukaku (Everton).
Attempt blocked. Tom Cleverley (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Leighton Baines.
Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Aaron Lennon (Everton) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Phil Jagielka (Everton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner, Everton. Conceded by Antonio Valencia.

Substitution

Substitution, Manchester United. Antonio Valencia replaces Daley Blind because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Daley Blind (Manchester United) because of an injury.
Offside, Manchester United. Juan Mata tries a through ball, but Marcus Rashford is caught offside.
goal

As It Stands

TeamPWDLGDPts
1Leicester3220932469
2Tottenham32171143262
3Arsenal3117772258
4Man City3116692454
5Man Utd3115881253
6West Ham31131261251
7Southampton3213811847
8Stoke3213811-347
9Liverpool301299545
10Chelsea3111119844
11West Brom31101011-740
12Everton3091110938
13Bournemouth3210814-1638
14Watford3110714-637
15Swansea3291013-937
16Crystal Palace319715-834
17Norwich328717-2131
18Sunderland316916-1927
19Newcastle316718-2725
20Aston Villa323722-4016
View full Premier League table

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