Premier League 2018/19: Manchester United vs Everton

Manchester Uniteds attacking output has recently come to the fore, especially when chasing games. The Red Devils comeback to win from two goals down against Newcastle was what began this trend, with the 2-2 draw against Chelsea a continuation of the same theme, where United only let loose after going behind. However, this method is surely unsustainable, and thus fans of the club would have been delighted to see a change in the plan during the game against Everton at Old Trafford  United actually attacked in the first half itself. The final scoreline may have been closer than desired at 2-1, but that owed a lot to Uniteds profligacy and some superb goalkeeping by Jordan Pickford. Nevertheless, this represented some tangible progress toward building a team that can attack coherently, and the following analysis will delve into the factors behind this.

Pogba stands tall

Paul Pogba may have hit the headlines for his dressage-style approach to penalty-taking, but the Frenchman was at the top of his game otherwise against Everton, especially in the first half. His movement and passing cut through the Toffees time and time again, and only a mixture of good goalkeeping and bad finishing kept the score down to 1-0 at half-time. While he was slightly less effective in the second half, he still showed incredible presence of mind to eschew a shot from 25 yards and instead pass to Anthony Martial, who promptly finished the move off with a sumptuous??curling effort. Pogbas touched the ball more than anybody else on the pitch (89), and his touch map shows the influence he had on the game, especially on Uniteds attack 

The fact that Fred played in the midfield alongside Pogba and Nemanja Matic allowed the Frenchman to dictate proceedings; the Brazilian provides balance to the midfield, and he allowed Pogba to strut his stuff higher up the pitch, safe in the knowledge that there was sufficient cover behind him. This brought out the best of Pogbas game  as the touch map shows, he drifted to the left quite often to link with Anthony Martial, and the two Frenchmen combined for both of Uniteds goals. Pogbas passing and movement were of the highest quality on Sunday, and the hope, as always, is that he provides displays of this nature on a more consistent basis.

Martial makes width count

Anthony Martial has enjoyed a renaissance to his United career over the last month or so. The Frenchman, who looked on his way out of Old Trafford in the summer, has now scored four goals across Uniteds last three league games, and he also won the penalty from which Pogba ultimately scored off the rebound. The touch map below shows Martials positioning throughout the game  he was mainly playing off the left flank