It was a busy Wednesday night in the Premier League with significant results meaning that one manager may be safe for a few more weeks, while another may be lucky to get to the weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did his job prospects a world of good at Old Trafford with a battling performance by his Manchester United side against the returning Jose Mourinho. Meanwhile, Marco Silva’s days may be numbered after a comprehensive defeat at Anfield against Liverpool.
United’s Best Performance Of Season
Manchester United produced their best performance of the season to inflict a first defeat for Jose Mourinho as Tottenham Hotspur manager.
For many weeks, there have been questions surrounding the quality and commitment of United players. However, on Wednesday, there were no such questions faced for Solskaer.
The Red Devils took the lead thanks to a brilliant strike from Marcus Rashford. The Englishman struck a powerful drive from outside the box that was too hot for the Spurs stopper to keeper out.
Spurs went into the break level after a wonderful piece of skill from Dele Alli resulted in the equaliser. The midfielder brought the ball down excellently while holding of Fred in the penalty area, before scooping a cheeky chip over the incoming David De Gea.
The visitors were fortunate to go into the break on terms as they were completely outplayed in the opening period. They failed to increase their intensity in the second half and United were awarded a penalty when Rashford was brought down.
The striker made no mistake from the spot and put United on course for a big win. United never looked like conceding, and the win moves them up to sixth in the standings.
Liverpool’s Five Star Display
There was more joy in the Merseyside derby for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. Everton came into the game in torrid form, and the questions surrounding their manager wasn’t eased with the 5-2 defeat.
Klopp opted to play a much-changed lineup for the derby as he rested a host of his big names ahead of a busy upcoming schedule, which includes the Club World Cup next week. One of those players brought in made his presence known after just six minutes.
Divock Origi put the hosts ahead before Xherdan Shaqiri doubled the lead eleven minutes later. Everton pulled one back through Michael Keane, but Liverpool pressed home their advantage with a further two goals.
Origi scored the first of those before Sadio Mane got in on the act before the half time whistle. The Toffees pulled another goal back before the break as Richarlison celebrated his new contract by smartly directing his header past Adrian.
Everton never really looked like getting back into the game, however, and found the three-goal disadvantage restored when Georgino Wijnaldum made sure of the drubbing in the first minute of injury time.
It has been reported that David Moyes is already being lined up to take over from Silva, with Everton’s situation looking desperate, as they will end the mid-week fixtures in the bottom three.
