Manchester United returned to the summit of the Premier League following an emphatic 4-0 defeat of Everton at Old Trafford.
Antonio Valencia gave United a half lead with an outrageous effort from 20yards out, before three late goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and an Anthony Martial penalty earned José Mourinho a first win over Ronald Koeman and return to the top of the PL standing.
The return of ex-United captain and all-time top scorer, Wayne Rooney, was the center of attraction prior to kickoff, but it was the home side who started the brightest, as Valencia put them ahead.
Nemanja Matic releases a pass from the left to Valencia, who unleashes a volley that sailed past Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
That stunning effort by the Ecuadorian was the only real effort at goal in a largely dull first half, as the Red Devils went into the break with the advantage.
It was the Toffees who started the second on a positive note, as they began to control proceedings and Rooney almost equalised but was denied by David de Gea, who save with his legs.
The visitors kept dominating and just moments after the hour mark, De Gea was called upon again, but this time by Gylfi Sigurdsson, but the Spaniard was up to the task to make sure the game remained 1-0.
Juan Mata went close to doubling United’s lead at the other end, but his free kick came off the post before Everton made their first substitution, as Davies was replaced by Sandro
Everton continued to control the game, but were unable to find the equaliser, which proved very much elusive.
United and Everton made their second substitutions of the game, with Ander Herrera replacing Juan Mata, while Idrissa Gueye went off for Calvert-Lewin for the Toffees.
Everton continued to control possession, with Rooney at the center of it all before he was replaced by Kevin Mirallas to a standing ovation from OT eight minutes from time.
Two minutes after Rooney left the pitch, United killed the game, as Mkhitaryan scored a decisive second for the Red Devils.
Ashley Williams played aa loose pass, which was superbly intercepted by Marouane Fellaini, before Lukaku played through ball to Mkhitaryan, who calmly slotted home to end whatever hopes Everton had of getting a point.
Three minutes later, Mkhitaryan was replaced by Martial, before United made it 3-0 with Lukaku scoring against his former club.
Matic played a shot, which deflected off an Everton player before Lingard headed the resultant loose ball into the part of the Belgian, who calmly scored from close range.
The drama wasn’t over just yet, as United had one more trick up their sleeves, as it soon became 4-0 when Martial scored from the spot in added time.
Martial showed great skill to beat Schneiderlin in the box, before the defensive midfielder handled the ball with hand, and the referee pointed straight to the spot.
Martial stepped up to convert, and hand United a win that sees them return to the top of the league table.
It was a harsh result on Everton, going by their performance in the second half.
“Sometimes in football, you get more than you deserve,” a disappointed Everton manager, Koeman said after the match.
“Today, we got less. It’s all about scoring and not mistakes like the second goal.”
José Mourinho, United manager said: “We were phenomenal in the first half hour. In the last part of the game, we killed them off.”
“The third and fourth are just a consequence of a team that was sad,” he added.
