Inconsistency has marked Manchester United’s past couple of matches during weeks 7 and 8. Week 7 held a fixture between Arsenal and Man United that took place on Manchester United’s home turf, Old Trafford. Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær went into match day looking for his 100th win as the head coach of United.
Arsenal, meanwhile, wanted to bounce back from last week’s loss against Leicester City. During the first half, Manchester United’s diamond midfield seems to face a lot of pressure from Arsenal’s energy; Arsenal came really close to take the lead as Brazilian midfielder Willian hit the crossbar and Bukayo Saka’s header just skimmed over the bar. In the second half, Paul Pogba fouled Hector Bellerin inside 12 yards. Arsenal’s Aubameyang was on penalty duty, and the Gabonese striker duly converted the only goal of the game.
This win ends Arsenal’s “big six hoodoo,” as it was the first away win for them against any top six sides since 2015. To further add salt to Manchester United’s wound, the win also ends Arsenal’s 14 year losing streak at Old Trafford; the last time Arsenal beat Man United on their home turf was September 17, 2006, when Adebayor scored the only goal of the match. After week 7’s showdown with Arsenal, Manchester United was left sitting in a very unfamiliar 15th place, which only worsened with another loss against Istanbul Basakhesir on Wednesday.
A win in week 8 relieved some of this pressure from Manchester United — also from manager Solskjær, who has recently been under fire for the team’s performance. In an important matchup with Everton at Goodison Park, Manchester United came back in the first half from being 0-1 thanks to Bruno Fernandes, whose powerful header levelled the game only 6 minutes after Everton took the lead. In the 32nd minute, Fernandes scored again when his cross, intended for Marcus Rashford, went in the net. The Portuguese midfielder finished his stellar individual performance by providing an assist to the new signing Edinson Cavani during extra time, giving Cavani his first goal in the United shirt.
After beating Everton, Man United now sits at 14th place in the table, having 10 points in 7 games. Everton has been in very good form this season, especially after Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti brought James Rodriguez back from Real Madrid; however, this loss marked their third in a row, making them drop to 6th place and sitting on 13 points.
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