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There was a risk in signing Edinson Cavani for free at 33, but Manchester United got their reward at Goodison Park.
Two minutes left of a sterile draw with Everton, the penalty shoot-out called, but the veteran class stepped in to protect Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s quest for a first trophy as United’s coach in the Carabao Cup.
Cavani produced a lovely ending to finally break the deadlock and lead United to a semi-final meeting with Manchester City next month. It is debatable whether he would have still been on the field had VAR been employed in the quarterfinal stage, after the Uruguayan international foolishly raised his hand to Yerry Mina early in the second half, but that hypothetical could not devalue the merit of United’s victory. . Solskjær’s team should have been out of sight before a nervous, restrained and finally tired Everton had their first sight of the goal.
The second half turned into tortuous surveillance until Cavani hit, thanks to the assist of substitute Anthony Martial. Carlo Ancelotti’s team threw the men forward for a draw and Martial scored a second on the counter.
The United manager said of Cavani: “I don’t think he got off to a slow start, he was excellent. He was injured, he was late and I am very happy with his influence in the dressing room, the habits he brings to training and his attitude to the game. He has scored very important goals for us. He was away for seven months and we have been patient with him, but I think he has had a great impact ”.
The pattern for the first half was established early. Everton were riddled with mistakes and careless every time they had possession, which rarely happened. United frequently created chances, with Alex Telles a productive source down the left, but lacked the clinical touch to finish them off.
Robin Olsen replaced Jordan Pickford when Ancelotti changed his goalkeepers for the third time and made a memorable contribution. The Swedish international hit Mina on the nose as he tried to clear the first of a series of dangerous United corners. He almost let Cavani in by lingering too long on a back pass from Michael Keane and needed a recovery tackle to escape.
There were also many opportunities to show good and routine. Olsen saved Cavani’s feet after Axel Tuanzebe dispossessed Ben Godfrey, denied the same player twice more in quick succession at his near post, and contained a docile header from Paul Pogba when the midfielder was found unmarked by the corner of Telles. Séamus Coleman also produced a vital block to deflect Donny van de Beek’s close-range shot off Pogba’s rear heel and Mason Greenwood came inches from converting a dive header from Telles’ left cross.
Everton, no doubt also wondering how they remained on a level playing field, took 35 minutes to put Dean Henderson to the test for the first time when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed Gylfi Sigurdsson’s corner directly to the United goalkeeper. Moments later, they nearly got ahead when Sigurdsson swept a long-distance free throw into the top corner, but Henderson lived up to the effort and pushed. The recovery of the local team was fleeting.
United, fighting their way through their hosts with neat one-touch triangles, finished the first half on top and required an acrobatic interception from Mina to prevent Cavani from connecting with a Fernandes cross in front of goal.
Olsen made another save near Cavani’s post early in the second half after the forward appeared to control Tuanzebe’s center with his upper arm. He then became embroiled in a South American dispute with Mina when, after being stopped by the Colombian defender, he reacted by grabbing his marker by the chin. Once again, the VAR may have had a more draconian view of Cavani raising his hand than referee Andy Madley, who chose to lecture both players.
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Richarlison had to retire after being stunned and confused by a collision with Eric Bailly. The contact was purely accidental on the defender’s part, but Richarlison’s teammates were visibly unhappy with Fernandes for pushing the Brazilian to the crushing challenge.
Solskjær introduced Martial and Marcus Rashford, who received a warm reception from the 2,000 Evertonians inside the stadium for their efforts to feed the schoolchildren during the lockdown, in an attempt to inject rhythm and energy into United’s attack and paid dividends with two minutes remaining. Martial, falling deep into midfield, caught Harry Maguire’s ball off defense and found Cavani intentionally stalking to the right of Everton’s penalty area. The forward cut into Ben Godfrey and unleashed an excellent first-time shot that flew past Olsen into the far corner for the deciding moment of the game. The penalty shoot-out had been avoided and it was no more than United deserved.
