Everton analysis - Amadou Onana fluffs his lines as emphatic transfer point made

Paying the penalty

A week after spurning their own long-awaited first spot-kick of the season, Everton were left to pay the penalty at Old Trafford with two reckless and unnecessary challenges undoing all their early promise in emphatic fashion.

Even when the Blues were finally awarded a penalty of their own after going 10 months and 30 Premier League games without one – while all their top flight rivals received at least one of the 73 dished out this term before their own – it took a VAR review but here Simon Hooper had no doubts when pointing to the spot. Everton captain James Tarkowski might have wagged his finger when Alejandro Garnacho tumbled to the turf but he shouldn’t have given the teenager the opportunity to go down when he was on the edge of the area, going nowhere.

Similarly, there was no need for Ben Godfrey to repeat the mistake on the same player as he also came steaming in. Like Tarkowski, the former Norwich City man is a natural centre-back himself but this is now two seasons on the trot that he’s endured horror shows way to Manchester United when being deployed at full-back. Given that Sean Dyche had three more orthodox options at right-back on the bench here, you wonder whether one of them might actually be selected in that berth when the Blues return to action in three weeks’ time.

Everton plan after Manchester United defeat is clear - but it might not be what they need

Everton player ratings as one awful and three poor in Manchester United loss

Jarrad who?

Such has been Jarrad Branthwaite’s incredible progress as Everton’s breakthrough star of this season, Manchester United have been touted among a clutch of suitors over a potential big money move but his rise has been so rapid, at least one