Ainsley Maitland-Niles marked his Everton debut with a superb strike with virtually the last kick of the game to snatch a 2-2 draw for the Toffees against Manchester United.
Substitute Benjamin Sesko’s header looked to have won United all three points. Bryan Mbeumo fired United in front inside the first minute of the second period. But an Everton side short on attacking options rallied to level through Tyrique George. A draw maintains Everton’s unbeaten start and keeps them one point ahead of United to calm the sense of unrest among the club’s fans. A miserable end to the window could still have ramifications for the teams performance over the rest of the season. The return of Jack Grealish on loan for the season only slightly softened the blow as Moyes faces up to the realities of a possible relegation battle rather than a challenge for European football. The United captain came closest to breaking the deadlock in a first half otherwise devoid of quality when his volley came back off the crossbar.
After letting Iliman Ndiaye depart in a £65 million ($88 million) move to Manchester City and Beto to leave for Fiorentina, the Toffees expected to strengthen their forward line with the signing of Monaco’s Folarin Balogun. An issue with the USA international’s medical saw the clubs frantically renegotiate the structure of a £40 million deal but Balogun turned his back on the move. Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick as United thrashed Ipswich 5-2 last weekend to get their season up and running after a dreadful 2-0 defeat at Hull.
David Moyes has been left with only one natural striker to pick from in Thierno Barry as a result and only 18 outfield players.
Maitland-Niles’s arrival from Lyon on the final day of the transfer window was overshadowed by Everton’s failure to reinforce their attack. But the former Arsenal full-back lasered a long-range shot into the top corner in the 96th minute to punish a lacklustre United performance.
