Everton were left frustrated on Sunday evening as they fell to a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United despite a valiant and determined display at Goodison Park.
A piece of brilliance from Alejandro Garnacho put the visitors ahead inside three minutes. The away side then spent much of the remainder of the half riding out an onslaught from Sean Dyche's men.
They did so successfully and then doubled their advantage early in the second period when Marcus Rashford converted from the penalty spot following a foul by Ashely Young on Anthony Martial.
The three points for United were sealed with 15 minutes remaining as Anthony Martial burst through Everton's defence before poking the ball past Pickford.
For the clash, the Blues made one change from the victory at Selhurst Park a fortnight ago, with the match-winner from that game Idrissa Gana Gueye replacing the injured Amado Onana in the heart of the Blues' midfield.
The first attack of note from the away side saw Diogo Dalot swing in what seemed an innocuous cross, but United winger Garnacho produced a superb bicycle kick to put the away side ahead inside three minutes.
Everton rallied well against that initial setback and had their first sight of goal five minutes later when Harrison unleased Calvert-Lewin who beat the offside trap before dribbling into the penalty area. He chopped inside and away from defender Victor Lindelof before hitting a tame shot straight at Onana.
The contest ebbed and flowed up until Everton forged the game's next real effort when Calvert-Lewin rose highest to meet a Mcneil corner but his header was straight into the hands of Onana.
Seconds later Everton were denied again, first a low Calvert-Lewin shot looked destined to find the bottom corner until United's No.1 made a stunning save at full stretch to deny him. McNeil followed up on Onana's parry but saw his deflected effort cleared off the line by United's Kobbie Mainoo.
The Toffees really started to turn the screw and the noise levels cranked up at Goodison in return.
As that pressure continued to build on the United defence, Dyche's men looked like they were finally going to get their reward when McNeil won possession deep inside the United half before finding Doucoure free inside the penalty area. But the in-form midfielder dragged his resulting effort wide of Onana's post with the United No.1 rooted to the spot.
It was all one-way traffic as the game approached half-time with Calvert-Lewin, a constant menace for the away side, the next to be left frustrated.
He headed over the bar from close range and then a minute later, some great attacking play from Everton's No.9 launched a move that saw the ball fall to Gana just inside the penalty area, but he smashed his resulting strike high and wide.
For all Everton's dominance, they remained behind at the break and then were on the end of what seemed a harsh penalty call five minutes into the second half.
Martial went tumbling in the penalty box with Young closest to the United attacker. The forward received a yellow card for diving, but the decision and card were overturned following a lengthy VAR check, with Young found guilty of tripping the United man.
Marcus Rashford dispatched the penalty to double the lead for Erik ten Hag's side.
Just as they did in the first half, the Blues responded quickly and nearly grabbed a goal back when a long-range strike from Gana looked to be heading towards the top corner, however, Onana at full stretch was able to tip it over for a corner.
Everton continued to battle to find a response with Dyche introducing Arnaut Danjuma and Nathan Patterson in place of McNeil and Young with a little under 20 minutes remaining. However, the result was sealed in the 75th minute when Martial broke free in the box to poke home past Pickford.
The Blues' persistence even after the third goal was nearly rewarded when Mykolenko drove down the left into the United box before lashing a vicious effort which bounced off the underside of the bar - summing up their luck throughout the evening.
With the contest edging towards full-time, Dyche handed Youssef Chermiti and then Lewis Dobbin valuable minutes for their development, they replaced Calvert-Lewin and Jack Harrison.
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