When Manchester United were looking for a saviour this season, they opted not to revert to their greatest super-sub. They may not have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout but they seem to have his successor in spirit on the pitch. Benjamin Sesko is yet to start a game under Michael Carrick but he has come off the bench to score three times, all significant, delivering an extra five points.
First the winner against Fulham, then an equaliser at West Ham, now a decider at Everton. It was early by Sesko’s standards – in the 71st minute, rather than injury time, when Jordan Pickford denied him a second – but it felt further evidence of Carrick’s nous. United had looked blunt before his arrival, lacking inspiration and a focal point in attack. Sesko is the only pure No 9 in the squad and, once again, he illustrated the merits of a penalty-box presence. In time, Carrick may have an issue if he can keep naming Sesko on the bench. For now, their alliance is benefiting both. Carrick said: “I have got a really good relationship with Ben. He has taken some huge steps recently.”
In a game low on drama, the goal came from a sweeping move. Everton, who had been the more positive in the second half, may regret committing too many men forward, leaving themselves open to the counter-attack which, whether under Carrick or Solskjaer, tends to be United’s most potent weapon.
Sesko was involved twice in a move that involved their three big summer signings. He laid the ball off to Matheus Cunha, who sprayed a diagonal pass to release Bryan Mbeumo. He was confronted only by Michael Keane and squared the ball for Sesko, who had run 70 yards to slide in a shot. “It was a ruthless finish,” said Carrick. “I like the way he put it away with real confidence.” It was the Slovenian’s eighth goal for United. He only had two in 17 games when Ruben Amorim was sacked.
And United have been transformed since then. They took their haul under Carrick to 16 points from a possible 18, a charge that is putting them on a path towards the Champions League. A distinctly mundane match nevertheless produced a fine result for United.
Arguably, they undid some of the damage done on one of Amorim’s most ignominious nights. In November, his United were clueless when confronted with the 10 men of Everton and lost at Old Trafford. The rematch was different and not just because Idrissa Gueye completed the evening without slapping a teammate. Unlike Amorim, Carrick found a way. Successful substitutions have been a theme of his reign, and not just those involving Sesko.
For one of his predecessors, it was a frustrating reunion. David Moyes has now seen Everton go seven games without a win at Hill Dickinson Stadium. They are yet to record a win over elite opposition at their deluxe ground and, when they were looking more ambitious than United, they conceded.
They had rarely threatened to in the preceding hour. They almost struck early, when James Tarkowski cleared Amad Diallo’s fourth-minute shot off the line, though Pickford had taken some of the sting out of it. Thereafter, Diogo Dalot thudded a long-range half-volley into the advertising hoardings while, after the break, Mbeumo blazed a shot over from an acute angle.
If the first half had seemed a contest to give the ball away most, United could savour the earthy qualities that earned them a result. “I’m delighted with the result and spirit, the boys digging deep and sacrificing for each other,” said Carrick. He played his own part. They had too little threat on either flank, so he removed Amad, brought on Sesko and recalibrated his side.
Moyes, of course, did not have a £73m striker in reserve; or in the team, for that matter. “The quality you are talking about costs big money,” he lamented.
The cheaper striker he does have, Thierno Barry, could have scored inside 10 seconds, albeit without knowing much about it, when Senne Lammens slammed a clearance into him. After that, the Belgian impressed rather more. “Senne was outstanding tonight,” said Carrick. “As a goalkeeper you couldn’t hope for much more: safe hands, calm, composed, an exemplary performance.”
Lammens held on to James Garner’s well-struck free kick, saved from Harrison Armstrong less than 30 seconds into the second half and, as Everton chased an equaliser, tipped away Keane’s thunderbolt from distance and thwarted the replacement Tyrique George in injury time. “Their goalie was bloody brilliant,” said Moyes, who nominated Lammens as his man of the match. Everton had directed a series of corners under the bar. They had not realised Lammens would deal with them so well, Moyes reflected ruefully.
With three summer signings combining for the goal, a fourth excelling in goal, it felt a triumph of United’s recruitment. Of players and, more recently, a head coach.
