Everton 1-2 Manchester United
In an era where the words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ are bandied around all too glibly, this was a night in which a true icon of the game made history.
There was a mere minute remaining in the first half of this Premier League encounter when Cristiano Ronaldo, a substitute who entered on the half hour, added another chapter to his illustrious career and provided yet another new entry into the record books.
For this was the moment that the Portuguese great netted the 700th club goal of his career, 20 years and two days after his first for hometown team Sporting Lisbon.
He managed five there before signing for Manchester United as a teenager after the then-English champions came off the pitch following a friendly and begged Sir Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff to sign him.
What followed over the next six years was glorious and included 118 goals, followed by an incredible spell and 450 goals at Real Madrid, 101 during three years at Juventus and then back to Manchester last summer where he has added a further 26 to his tally to date.
And to think, some people involved in football think he is no good for morale!
Highlights of the game
A Sunday night showdown which is a real barometer – that was how I billed this contest at Goodison Park.
Home boss Frank Lampard made one change to the Everton side that won 2-1 at Southampton last weekend with promising young talent Anthony Gordon replacing the matchwinner in that game, Dwight McNeil, who was named among the substitutes.
Meanwhile, his counterpart Erik ten Hag rang four changes to the United team which lost 6-3 to Manchester City in the derby last weekend.
That meant a first Premier League start for summer signing Casemiro, while Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial came in, the former replacing Raphael Varane who was only considered fit enough to be on the bench.
It would have been interesting to know what the Frenchman made of his side as they went behind for the third time in a week just five minutes in.
Demarai Gray carried the ball forward and found Alex Iwobi and the Nigerian took one touch and curled a stunning shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
Goodison was rocking for the Toffees, who went into this match on the back of a six-game unbeaten run, their best in the top flight since going seven without defeat between November and December 2017.
To their credit, United regrouped and were level within 10 minutes and it was another beauty.
After the home side lost the ball in midfield, Martial played a lovely through ball to Antony and the Brazilian took a couple of touches before opening up his body and curling past the onrushing Jordan Pickford.
It was yet another impressive contribution from Martial, who has missed most of the campaign to date with injury and the spell of bad luck he is currently experiencing continued when he had to leave the fray with a knock just before the half hour.
As it turned out, his replacement provided the story of the night as, a minute before the break, Casemiro won the ball off Iwobi and set Ronaldo away.
You know the rest of this story… it has happened on 699 other occasions.
And so, another brilliant moment for a player who has created Premier League 2022 highlights every year he has played in this country and, in fact, everywhere around the world where his career has taken him.
If the SBOTOP Premier League 2022 betting odds then existed, just imagine 20 years ago what they would have offered on a player reaching 700 club goals when he began his career.
Will leave the final word to a player who also knew a thing or two about scoring goals during his own career.
Cristiano Ronaldo – incredible!
Key statistics
Of Ronaldo’s 700 career club goals in all competitions, 498 have come in league matches.
This game was the first time he has made five consecutive league appearances as a substitute since 2002-03 at Sporting Lisbon.
Antony is the first United player to score in each of his first three appearances in the Premier League for the club.
Iwobi has been directly involved in four Premier League goals this season for Everton (one goal, three assists), twice as many as any teammate.
Man Utd have become the first side to win 100 Premier League games in which they conceded the first goal (Spurs (96) and Liverpool (85) are the next two).
This was their 38th Premier League win against Everton – a record they jointly hold with their matches against Spurs.
What’s next?
Everton are at high-flying Spurs next Saturday teatime (October 15) to start a busy spell before the World Cup begins.
United’s hectic schedule is already underway and after three straight away games, they now have three successive home matches, beginning with Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday (October 13) and Newcastle in the Premier League a week today.
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