Manchester United manager Michael Carrick described his team's draw at Everton as feeling more like a defeat after Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a spectacular equalizer in the final minute of injury time.
Benjamin Sesko had appeared to secure all three points for United with an 88th-minute goal, but Maitland-Niles marked his Everton debut with a stunning strike to make the score 2-2. The late goal canceled out Sesko's header, which had put United ahead after Bryan Mbeumo's opener following halftime and Tyrique George's earlier equalizer for Everton.
"We're bitterly disappointed," Carrick stated. "It feels like a defeat. It's a bit of a cliche, but we have taken a point and we can't ignore that, but it feels like we should have had a lot more. All the work that went into putting us in that position, to then come away like that leaves us with not a great feeling."
United has now conceded two goals in each of their three matches this season, taking a total of four points from fixtures against Hull City, Ipswich, and Everton. Carrick acknowledged the defensive lapses, stating, "We need to concede less goals to give us a better chance of winning games. We'll certainly look at that and keep improving."
He noted that both of Everton's goals were exceptional strikes from distance. "There's been two strikes from distance really, two really good strikes from their point of view. Sometimes they fly in the top corner and more often than not they probably don't," Carrick said.
Marcus Rashford, who had been a bright spark for United, was substituted in the second half after appearing to feel a hamstring issue. "He was just feeling a bit of something," Carrick confirmed. "He looked really sharp and dangerous again, but that final moment didn't quite drop for him."
For Everton, the late equalizer was a moment of jubilation. Maitland-Niles, who joined the club on deadline day for £4.2 million from Lyon, expressed his delight. "It felt like a win," he said. "It's amazing. Everyone wants to start off like that and thankfully I did. The ball fell to me on the edge of the box, I put my foot through it and it ended up in the top corner which I'm happy about. We dug deep and managed to get a point. The crowd were with us and we were fighting to the end and that's why you get those results."
Everton manager David Moyes praised his new signing for his impactful debut. "We are still getting to know Ainsley," Moyes commented. "If nobody knew you, that goal would get your plenty of headlines. It was a brilliant goal. United played better than in other games. I didn’t think we deserved to be behind, but we lost the first goal a minute into the second half which was shabby. Then we allowed them to go 2-1 up, but it would be hard to say we didn’t deserve anything."
