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Everton stunned Manchester United with what must surely rank as their best performance of the season with an emphatic 3-0 victory.
A bright opening from both sides saw Roberto Martinez’s men strike first, as James McCarthy turned in a pacey counter after fine play from Aaron Lennon and Gareth Barry.
The early goal stunned United but as the first half wore on they looked to be gaining more of a foothold in the match, dominating possession even if they couldn’t fashion many clear cut chances.
With United’s influence growing, John Stones’ first ever goal for Everton came at the perfect time for the home side, as he powerfully headed in an excellent Leighton Baines corner.
But who was man of the match? Check out our player ratings below:
Show all 24 1 /24Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Tim Howard What some might see as easy saves could just as easily be excellent positioning from the American, who radiated calm across the defence. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Seamus Coleman Dovetailed with Lennon to terrify Shaw in a performance that would have reminded United why they were so eager to acquire him in the first place. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings John Stones A thoroughly deserved, and quite excellent, goal from a defender who dealt comfortably with the difficult assignment of Fellaini and Rooney. 8
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Phil Jagielka An excellent slide tackle on Rooney in the 52nd minute was indicative of an authoritative display as the 32-year-old marshalled his backline with composure and confidence. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Leighton Baines Goodison saw less of his rapier-like runs down the left but Baines was reliable in defence. He provided an excellent delivery for Stones to turn in. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Gareth Barry An important presence in Everton’s side, his deep-lying role held off United’s attacks whilst he displayed his passing range in starting Everton’s dangerous counters. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Aaron Lennon His pace gave Shaw nightmares throughout, as he became Everton’s key attacking weapon. Combined with an industrious defensive shift Lennon looked a different man from the Spurs outcast. 8
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Ross Barkley Fitted in superbly as part of Everton’s counter-attacking lineup, providing direct running when in possession and pressing the opposition's backline when Everton didn’t have the ball. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings James McCarthy Thoroughly deserved his goal for an energetic box-to-box performance in which he won the ball in important positions and then got himself into positions to influence the game at the other end. 8
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Leon Osman Brought in to provide consistency and reliability on the left flank and that was exactly what he did. Not a showy display, but he didn’t put a foot wrong at all. 6
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Romelu Lukaku Roberto Martinez described him as Europe’s best young striker and on the evidence of today he might be right. A pacey, powerful performance that occupied both centre backs. 8
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings David de Gea A strange performance from the best keeper in the league, who seemed reluctant to leave his line. His lack of assuredness seemed to panic his defenders. 5
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Antonio Valencia The image of Valencia stood in no-man’s land, as Mirallas killed off the contest, epitomised yet another poor performance from a player who simply is not a right back. 4
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Chris Smalling The senior defender probably held the least responsibility for the home team’s rout; he was so often the last line between Everton’s forwards and yet another goal. 7
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Patrick McNair Though he twice failed to clear his lines as Everton got the opener, McNair provides the United defence with a ball-playing confidence they have lacked since Rio Ferdinand’s departure. 6
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Luke Shaw His deficiencies were remorselessly exposed time and time again by Lennon and Coleman. Without opportunities to get forward the 19-year-old looks a long way short of the finished article. 5
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Daley Blind Another at fault for Everton’s first goal, his dodgy tackling is shown up in the anchor role as he was overrun by Everton’s speedy counters. Barkley and McCarthy showed up a worrying lack of pace. 4
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Juan Mata Peppered the game with his usual array of neat passes but does a player of his quality influence these tight contests often enough? 5
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Ander Herrera In attack Herrera looked as silky and skilful as ever, and he looked the most likely to conjure a United goal. However he too often forgot his defensive duties, leaving a creaky backline without support. 6
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Marouane Fellaini Silly fouls in the first ten minutes left him looking like a red card waiting to happen. It was little wonder van Gaal chose to remove the Belgian after a brainless performance. 3
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Ashley Young A more peripheral attacking presence than in recent weeks, as United focused their attack on the right flank and the winger was dragged back to support Shaw. 5
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Wayne Rooney The former Everton man usually enjoys returning to Goodison but today was not his finest performance. Leading the line in the first half he couldn’t find a foothold in the game as he was outfought by Stones and Jagielka. 5
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Off the Bench: Radamel Falcao What must Robin van Persie be doing wrong for van Gaal to be preferring Falcao to him? Yet again everything we once associated with Falcao seemed to be missing as he was bullied off the ball by Everton’s defence. 4
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Everton 3 Manchester United 0 player ratings Off the Bench: Angel di Maria It took at least 10 minutes to even notice di Maria’s 63rd minute introduction. At 2-0 down he still had a chance to influence the match in United’s favour. He did not. 5
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Louis van Gaal was clearly unhappy with his side’s first half, in particular Marouane Fellaini, who seemed one bad tackle away from a red card on his return to Goodison Park. But the introduction of Falcao did not lead to any change in the visitors’ fortunes and Everton always looked a menace on the counter.
Substitute Kevin Mirallas added gloss to the score but it was no more than Everton deserved as they continued their recent upturn. With two defeats on the bounce United may not be going in to the offseason in quite the confident mood they hoped.
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