FIVE ASIDES FA Cup, third round: United 3, Everton 1
Roy Keane loves to scoff. And United, to be fair, have spent the past few years giving him reasons to be scornful. But now they’re on a winning streak – so what’s a poor Roy to do? Scoff about their opponents. ‘They’re unbeaten recently but they haven’t really played anyone,’ he said on ITV. ‘I’m still not convinced. I think the problems are still there at the back… They are better obviously than last year, but that wouldn’t have been hard… I think they have had some cushy games to experiment with.’
Dear Roy, you’re missing the point. Yes, United have had a run of middling opponents, but these are just the sort of games that have been banana skins ever since the Ferguson era. And if you consistently beat lesser teams, you end up where they are now – in the top four. Everton usually get something at Old Trafford, and had just done so at the Etihad, and might well have scraped a 2-2 draw here, but United had enough momentum to see them off. Doesn’t matter who you’re playing, a string of wins is exactly what you want. Erik ten Hag has won seven times in a row, either side of a tricky interval (and, by the way, has done very little experimenting). If any of those games had been lost, Keane would have been the first to scoff.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast, so much so that each one is more likely to be a continuation of the last. Marcus Rashford can’t step on the field without scoring, and here his goal was a cherry on the top of a cake made of his own assists. He created the first goal with his rapid run and sharp cross (which may have been a shot). The goal was a collector’s item: Rashford crossing with his left foot, Antony sliding in to score with his right. Rashford liked the feeling so much he did it again in the second half, with Conor Coady playing Antony’s role, and then added a late penalty, also gleaming with confidence. Gareth Southgate’s decision to give him only five minutes against France is looking worse and worse.
Between Rashford’s assists, United gave Everton a route back into the game. David de Gea, who so often spares their blushes, was left with a red face himself as he let a square ball squirm through his legs at the near post. We all have a howler in us, waiting to happen, and De Gea at least timed this one well – early in the game, with plenty of time for Rashford to rectify matters. And he also made Keane’s commentary more entertaining. ‘It’s almost as if a keeper has been sent off,’ he said, ‘and an outfield player has gone in goal and doesn’t know what to do.’
The upshot is that United are on two cup runs. They are installed as the bookies’ second favourites (behind City) in both the FA Cup and the Carabao. And the little balls bouncing around in those perspex globes are being kind to them. In both competitions their next game is at home, and their next opponents are from a lower division. It’s Charlton on Tuesday in the Carabao quarter-final, and Reading – yet again – at the end of the month in the FA Cup fourth round. If they lose either of those, Keane will be quite entitled to scoff.
Tim de Lisle writes about sport for The Guardian and music for The Mail on Sunday. If you’re still on Twitter, do follow him and United Writing.