Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag hailed the defensive discipline of his team despite them once again conceding more than 20 shots in their 2-0 Premier League victory over Everton.
James Tarkowski hacked down Alejandro Garnacho inside the box 12 minutes in and Bruno Fernandes tucked into the right corner from the resulting spot kick to put United 1-0 to the good.
Garnacho won another penalty in the 34th minute after Ben Godfrey flew in on the Argentinian and this time Fernandes handed the ball to Marcus Rashford who sent Jordan Pickford the wrong way for his seventh goal of the season.
Everton continued to press in the second period but their 23 shots were in vein as United bounced back from two defeats on the spin.
Manchester City had 27 shots at their goal while winning the derby last week, but after allowing a number of chances again today, ten Hag said: “If you see their xG is not that high and ours is much higher.
“It is their gameplan, obviously. We have players who feel comfortable to defend low. But you have to be disciplined and you have to incorporate it very well.
“It was a team performance, especially our back four with the keeper and Casemiro. They have done very well.
“You see the chances, they had some, also I think the way we defended set-plays was very good.
“We were really organised and we were focused – everyone did their job. There was one or two second phases where they we had some opportunities, but all over we did quite well.”
Garnacho went over in the box to win both penalties and was by far United’s best player in another sub-par performance at Old Trafford.
Boss ten Hag expressed his joy of working with the Argentinian but knows there are still vast areas to improve.
He added: “I love to work with Garnacho and many other players in the squad but he is a player who likes a challenge. Brave, confident and our job is to push him to high level but he is doing this. He has high potential.
“When you are young you don’t know what it is to play in a high competitive league and perform every third day.
“You don’t know you have to perform every training session. You need a lot of skills to be the best.”
Everton’s woes in front of goal continued despite their best efforts, including good chances from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Amadou Onana and Dwight McNeil.
The Toffees have scored just 14 open play goals this season and boss Sean Dyche knows his side have to find confidence in front of goal.
He said: “Very frustrating, as you can imagine and we have had a run of that where we have been performing correctly in so many ways.
“The most important thing is the scoreline, that’s the biggest stat and we’ve got on the wrong side of it, we have to work on it.
“I don’t know what teams have come here and had that many efforts on goal and chances but we’ve got to get hurt to score goals as sometimes Brian Clough used to say. That’s what I’m not seeing.
“They are working, the shape is good, the football played is pleasing and so it’s frustrating to not see that come to fruition with scoring more goals because they’re doing a lot right.”
Journeyman Joselu takes long, winding road to Champions League final
Real Madrid striker Joselu was in dreamland after he came on in the dying moments of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and turned the game on its head with two goals to snatch a stunning victory.
Joselu, whose journeyman career has included spells at clubs such as Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City and Newcastle United, only touched the ball a few times in their 2-1 second-leg win, but it was a night he is likely to remember for a long time.
He pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, stabbing the ball into the net to equalise for Madrid in the 88th minute, and just under three minutes later, he volleyed them into the lead from a cross by Antonio Rudiger.
"I don't know anything about being a hero, but I'm very happy... You can imagine," he said. "It was incredible, something spectacular. This team never gives up, it's in its blood to fight to the end and that's what we've done.
"You always dream of this kind of performance, but not even my most beautiful dreams are as big as what happened today."
On loan from second-division side Espanyol, Joselu's journey to becoming the semi-final hero has been long and winding in a career involving a dozen clubs across Europe.
He began his career at Celta Vigo before being bought in 2009 by Madrid, where he excelled in their B team but rarely made it to the first team.
He was sold to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2012 and then loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover 96 in 2014.
In 2015, he moved to Premier League side Stoke City, playing 27 times and scoring four goals, before spending two seasons at Newcastle United. He returned to Spain with Alaves, where he scored 36 times in three seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Espanyol in the summer of 2022, and a year later was loaned to Madrid and has scored nine goals in 32 appearances this season in LaLiga.
Joselu, born in Stuttgart, Germany, made his debut for Spain aged 33, coming off the bench against Norway to score twice in two minutes in March 2023.
"I don’t think Joselu will be sleeping much tonight, he’ll be useless in training tomorrow!" team-mate Jude Bellingham said. "He deserves it all, he’s been an amazing member of the squad all season, and it’s his night."
Tuchel: Champions League semi-final defeat 'tough to accept'
Thomas Tuchel reflects on "tough to accept" defeat after Real Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 and knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semi-final at the Allianz Arena, Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute through Alphonso Davies.
However, Joselu came off the bench to score twice in three minutes to send the LaLiga champions to the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern.
"It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand, it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Tuchel told DAZN after the game.
"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.
"We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years."
In stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and Tuchel was frustrated with how the situation was handled.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: "We are almost through, it's almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
"Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end. There was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch, and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman says sorry, but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this... The referee sees we get the second ball, and we get the shot - it's a very, very bad decision. It's against the rules. It's a disaster. It's hard to swallow, but that's the way it is."
Manuel Neuer made five saves in the game and looked equal to Madrid’s threat until he spilled the ball in the build-up to Joselu’s first goal.
"Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now," he told DAZN.
"That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 88th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
"We’d taken one step to London; we saw ourselves in the final, and now I’m lost for words."
Super-sub Joselu strikes again as comeback kings Madrid pounce
Joselu was the hero for Real Madrid as he scored twice off the bench to send them through to the Champions League final.
The Spaniard’s late brace secured Madrid’s comeback after Alphonso Davies had given the German side the lead, securing a 2-1 victory on the night, and a 4-3 win on aggregate to set up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
With only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to make an impact, Joselu made his time on the pitch count.
He scored with both his shots, becoming the oldest substitute to score a brace in a knockout game in the Champions League.
The forward is Madrid’s highest scorer in the competition this season with five goals, netting three of those after coming off the bench.
It is also the second time he has scored a double against a German team in the Champions League this campaign, getting his other against Union Berlin in the group stages.
Bayern were left to rue a late lapse in concentration that saw them concede twice in the space of two minutes and 44 seconds.
After Davies, who has been heavily linked with Los Blancos, became the first Canadian player to score in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with what was his maiden goal in the competition, it was a mistake that led to Madrid's equaliser.
It is the first time since April 2021 against Paris Saint-Germain that Manuel Neuer made an error leading to an opposition goal in the competition.
Bayern have now lost 11 Champions League matches against Madrid, the most one side has lost against another in the competition’s history.
It was always going to be a tough game for Thomas Tuchel’s side even after taking the lead – Madrid have won four matches despite conceding first in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since they won the trophy in 2016-17 (five).
Los Blancos have reached an 18th final in the European Cup/Champions League, but this is the first time they will play the showcase game at Wembley or in England altogether.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has reached his sixth Champions League final, two more than any other coach in the history of the competition.
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