Danny Murphy blames one Everton player for two dropped points v Man United
Everton gave up a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Manchester United on Saturday.
The Blues raced into a comfortable lead through strikes from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure and dominated the Old Trafford outfit in the first-half at Goodison Park (22 February).
However, Ruben Amorim’s side came back into the contest with a Bruno Fernandes free-kick and a Manuel Ugarte leveller.
The former Liverpool star has identified the Toffees star that was responsible for David Moyes’ side dropping two points.
Jordan Pickford to blame for Everton setback
Jordan Pickford is arguably the Blues’ best player but he did not cover himself in glory for Fernandes’ strike that got the Red Devils back into the clash.
In his column in the Mail on Sunday (23 February), Danny Murphy criticised the England star, saying: “If it had not been for a mistake by Jordan Pickford at 2-0, they’d [United] have left Merseyside with precisely what they deserved, nothing.”
Everton should have won regardless of Pickford ‘mistake’
Blaming Pickford for the goal is harsh, the free-kick was a moment of genius from the Portugal international and left Pickford rooted to the spot.
However, the Blues should have had a chance to win the clash after United had came back but for a controversial VAR incident.
In the dying embers of the contest, Ashley Young was dragged down in the penalty area by Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire but the referee overturned his original decision after going to the screen with the Premier League sharing that the VAR decided there was no foul committed.
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett was furious with the decision, labelling it as ‘indefensible’ when speaking exclusively to Goodison News.
| Premier League table | Played | GD | Points |
| 14. Everton | 26 | -4 | 31 |
| 15. Manchester United | 26 | -7 | 30 |
The 36-year-old may have gone down easily but there was blatant contact from the United man and it should have been a penalty and the incident proves that VAR is not fit for purpose.
Luckily for the Blues, they seem to have escaped any danger of relegation so the decision will not affect their chances of going down but it will still sting for the Toffees faithful.
David Moyes will still be livid because his side deserved to win the contest and were robbed of the chance to do from the spot.