Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesco came off the bench in the 1-0 win over Everton and came on to relieve Michael Carrick for the third time in four games to score the only goal.
The Slovenian striker is yet to start in the six games under interim head coach, but he has now scored twice and grabbed a late equalizer to maintain Carrick’s unbeaten start.
He was forced to wait until just before the end of the hour to be replaced by Amad Diallo, but within 13 minutes he made an impact by getting on the end of a direct counter-attack with a sharp moment for the visitors.
This was their fifth win in six games and United moved into fourth place, three points behind Aston Villa.
In United’s first real threat since the opening four minutes, he calmly and clinically converted the chance. Diallo’s shot went under goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before being cleared wide by James Tarkowski.
Carrick’s previous two unbeaten goals came after the 90th minute, the first in a win against Fulham and the other in a draw against West Ham, so the 71st-minute goal was relatively early by his standards.
With six goals in his last seven appearances, it has become difficult for Carrick to ignore his contribution to the team’s resurgence, but his replacement for Ruben Amorim in January has only increased the head coach’s own credentials.
This goal was largely due to Matheus Cunha’s pass from deep in their own half, which left Brian Mbeumo isolated in a one-on-one with Michael Keane, and the forward had the speed to outrun the centre-back, allowing Sesco to create a decisive opportunity.
The goal came in the midst of one of Everton’s best plays. Everton didn’t threaten in a competitive first half, only to come out after the break and immediately create their best chances.
Yliman Ndiayi and Keiynan Dewsbury-Hall moved the ball from right to left, but Harrison Armstrong, who scored his only goal of the season against Wrexham while on loan at Preston, failed to stretch Senne Lamence with a weak shot.
Mbeumo fired hard after Tarkowski failed to meet Koby Mainu’s cross satisfactorily, an unusual attack for the visitors. A sign things were not going as United wanted was when captain Bruno Fernandes became involved in an altercation with 19-year-old Armstrong.
However, Sesco’s arrival changed the game completely and Everton, who had only won once at home since early November, leveled the score when Keane made a fingertip save from Lamence from distance to give United their first clean sheet away in the league since March.
It made up for a lackluster first half in which United dominated without making the most of it.
Cunha’s shot missed Pickford but missed Tarkowski, who was covering, and the visitors were unable to make any progress against their back four, with midfielder James Garner at right-back and centre-half Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back.
Diogo Dalot’s shot from a half-cleared corner-kick skimmed Pickford’s left post and Fernandes fired home just before the break, but there was little sign of breaking the deadlock until Sesco arrived to save the day once again.
With this defeat, Everton’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s European competition were dashed, and they now sit in 9th place, behind Brentford and Bournemouth, and eight points behind Chelsea and Liverpool.
David Moyes’ side are now winless in seven games at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
