Rashford and Zirkzee score twice as Amorim's Man United demolish Everton
Manchester United's Marcus Rashford scores his second of the afternoon
The Ruben Amorim era ended its first week with two goals each from Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee and a biggest league win in over three years.
It was a marked contrast to United’s laborious football under Erik ten Hag, with young winger Amad Diallo revelling in his wing-back role and creating two goals himself by winning the ball off Everton defenders high up the field.
Even allowing for an appalling defensive display by the visitors, it was an impressive outing on Amorim’s home league “debut” as United manager, especially given the struggles that had plagued newboy Zirkzee and Rashford under ten Hag so far this season.
Three goals either side of the halftime interval put Amorim on course for his first victory in English football, on his first league game in charge at Old Trafford.
But all were the result of poor defending by Sean Dyche’s team.
On 34 minutes, the results of Amorim’s time on the training ground were evident as Bruno Fernandes’s left-wing corner picked out Rashford unmarked just inside the area.
His well-struck, first-time shot might have been missing the target, or more likely saved by Jordan Pickford, but Jarrad Branthwaite stuck out a boot and diverted the ball past his diving keeper.
If Branthwaite was blameless for that “error,” the same could not be said after 41 minutes when he panicked under pressure from Diallo and surrendered the ball to the United wing-back.
His pass freed Fernandes whose low cross was converted by Zirkzee, as he slid in to meet the ball eight yards out.
It was a hugely productive first half for United’s new manager, who has wasted no time in making improvements to a team that looked in disarray so often under former manager ten Hag.
In his first two games, a draw at Ipswich and midweek Europa League win over Bodo Glimt, United had scored inside the opening minute and, while they failed to do so in the first half here, the second half brought an unbelievable start.
Zirkzee started a lightning United attack and Diallo played in Rashford who took advantage of some poor defensive positioning to force a powerful shot through Pickford and into the net.
It was an impressive statement from United, under their new manager for a little over a week, especially as the previous 12 league games had produced just 13 goals.
More was to come, on 63 minutes, when Diallo again set up a goal, this time pressuring the other Everton centre-half James Tarkowski and stealing away the ball.
The United youngster advanced before picking out Zirkzee’s run and playing in his team-mate to finish confidently from a dozen or so yards.
There was time for Everton to come close to a consolation, with Andre Onana making an acrobatic dive to block a diving header from substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but United coasted to the finishing line and their biggest league win since beating Leeds 5-1 in August 2021.
Onana 6; Mazraoui 7 (Shaw 56, 6), de Ligt 6 (Maguire 56, 6), Martinez 6; Diallo 9, Casemiro 6 (Garnacho 66, 6), Mainoo 7 (Mount 80), Dalot 6; Fernandes 8 (Ugarte 66, 6), Zirkzee 8, Rashford 8.
Bayindir, Hojlund, Malacia, Antony.
Pickford 6; Young 5 (Patterson 73, 5), Tarkowski 4 (O’Brien 82), Branthwaite 4, Mykolenko 5; Doucoure 5, Gueye 6 (Mangala 67, 5); Lindstrom 5 (Harrison 67, 5), McNeil 6, Ndiaye 6; Beto 5 (Calvert-Lewin 67, 5).
Virginia, Begovic, Patterson, Mangala, Coleman, Armstrong.
J Brooks 6
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