Manchester United 2-2 Everton: Bryan Mbeumo impresses on debut as Mason Mount nets beauty

Yahoo

2 days ago

Bryan Mbeumo made his long-awaited bow as a Manchester United player as the Red Devils rounded off their US pre-season tour with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Everton.
Ruben Amorim's side lifted the second edition of the Premier League Summer Series at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia despite being held by a stubborn Toffees side.
The result leaves United unbeaten in the three games they have played Stateside, following on from 2-1 and 4-1 victories over West Ham and Bournemouth respectively.
This, however, was the game that all United fans had wanted to see, as both big-money recruits - Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha - lined up together for the very first time.
Both impressed significantly. What Amorim will like even more is that they performed even without the focal figure of a natural centre-forward. In this instance, Cunha was the centre-forward.
The Red Devils had a verve about their attacking play in the opening exchanges, as the fresh faces linked well with club captain Bruno Fernandes - operating further forward as one of the No10s in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 - and Amad Diallo, who was flying down the right flank from wing-back.
Cunha and Mbuemo showed neat touches to piece together intricate passages of play, and that will encourage Amorim greatly with the Premier League season two weeks out.
United went ahead here thanks to Fernandes' penalty, which stemmed from one of those quick give-and-gos between the front three.
Diallo was set off down the right by Fernandes, and the Ivorian cleverly waited for the contact from the desperate James Tarkowski, who felled him.
United's club captain made no mistake, stroking into the bottom corner, but that was not before his side had been dealt an almighty scare, as Jake O'Brien rattled the post from just six yards out.
The Irish defender had the goal at his mercy after James Garner, formerly of United, had tested Altay Bayindir with a dipping free-kick from range, and the deputy 'keeper parried into a dangerous area, leaving O'Brien with what should have been a simple rebound tap-in. United survived, and punished their opponents for it moments later.
However, Everton were back on level terms when they put together an excellent move of their own, that showed some of the chinks in United's armour.
Manuel Ugarte was converged upon quickly by Vitalii Mykolenko as the Uruguayan dallied on the edge of his own box, and the ball fell for Idrissa Gueye, who got his head up and picked out Iliman Ndiaye ghosting in at the far post with a beautifully crafted cross that the attacking midfielder guided home to equalise.
Level at the break, Amorim decided to manage Mbeumo's minutes, and withdrew the Cameroonian for Patrick Dorgu, shifting Diallo into the attacking midfield duo and moving Diogo Dalot onto the right.
That, however, stunted United's fizz that they had previously had, and the Red Devils looked a tad more mechanical and robotic in their attacking play thereafter.
That said, it was one of Mbeumo's competitors for once of those two No10 spots - Mason Mount - who reinstated United's lead with a sublime curler into the far corner after some nice interchange with Fernandes.
But United were pegged back once more, but this time, in bizarre circumstances.
Fernandes kicked out at Ndiaye on the halfway line and the pair were involved in a scuffle as play wore on. Substitute right-back Tyler Onyango drove down the flank and sought out a team-mate in the middle with a cut-back, and the recovering Ayden Heaven and Diallo both got touches which helped the ball ricochet awkwardly into the back of the net.
Despite the frustrations over the result, Amorim can take plenty of heart from his side's performance, particularly in the first period. Mbeumo and Cunha looked like real threats, and the best part for the Portuguese is that they already look comfortable bearing the heavy weight of the United shirt.