Everton secured a big three points this afternoon, bouncing back from their loss to Burnley in midweek with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Goodison Park.
It was a game that both sides needed to win, with the visitors still in the hunt for a place in the top four.
You would hardly have known that based on United's performance, completely lacking in every area as they limped to a narrow defeat. It was just the latest in a long string of poor performances from Ralf Rangnick's side, who look likely to limp towards the finish line over the course of the season.
Many members of their squad have expressed their disappointment with their form over the last few months, although it looks as though little has been done to change their current course of direction.
Speaking after the game, David de Gea labelled his team as 'a disgrace' in a scathing review of their performance (as reported by BBC's Shamoon Hafez):
De Gea: "It is a disgrace from us, we should be winning this game." #MUFC
— Shamoon Hafez (@ShamoonHafez) April 9, 2022
It's a disgrace from us, we should be winning this game.
We don’t score but we don’t create proper chances to score. We are not good enough, that is for sure. It will be difficult to be in the top four.
They played Wednesday and they were tired but they had more desire than us, that is not acceptable. Very sad to lose today.
De Gea has been honest in his assessments of United's performances this season, and in fairness to the Spaniard, he has been one of their more consistent players in recent times.
A top four finish is looking increasingly unlikely as the weeks go on. With a new manager yet to be confirmed, the future for Manchester United is looking uncertain.