Manchester United failed to close a three point gap on the top four this afternoon after drawing 1-1 with Everton at Goodison Park. With Liverpool and Manchester City both dropping points before their clash with the Toffees the Red Devils knew they could close a gap on their rivals but failed to do so again in another draw for Jose Mourinho’s men.
The result leaves Manchester United way away from the top four as any hope for Champions League football keeps slipping away with United continuously dropping points, but the point for Everton, which was certainly deserved will be a relief for Ronald Koeman after losing last week at the St Mary’s Stadium and keeps them within touching distance of United in sixth place.
One man in particular shone for the home side in their well battled draw, that man being summer signing Idrissa Gueye, who was absolutely immense in central midfield helping his side keep the likes of Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba very quiet during the game.
The arrival of the former Aston Villa man went under the radar in the summer but he has been exceptional thus far this season, he has found his feet extremely well in Koeman’s system whilst delivering supreme performances on a consistent basis in recent weeks.
In yet again another excellent performance, he helped his side extremely well defensively winning five tackles during the 90 minutes, more than any other player on the pitch and provided the midfield engine in the middle of the park.
When the impressive Gueye was not helping his side defensively he was pushing forward trying to help his team get something from the game, which evidently paid off with the Senegalese man winning the penalty in the closing stages, after receiving the ball and brushing past Marouane Fellaini after the Belgian brought him down for a stone wall penalty.
The midfielder was at the heart of everything for the Toffees and was oozing confidence, he had a total of 69 touches in the match making 37 completed passes which is impressive in itself.
Gueye was majestic yet again and was involved in a total of 16 duels this afternoon, managing to win an extremely impressive 75% which shows the dominance he possessed, making two interceptions too.
For someone to keep up such high tempo in their play and keep up high stamina levels as Gueye did was impeccable, he was bursting forward showing initiative whilst proving to be a nuisance for United, a player that just would not give them a sniff of the ball.
As expected, there has been humongous praise for Gueye on twitter, with some totally overjoyed with their Man of the Match, so we take a look at how people responded to Everton’s summer signing today.
Idrissa Gueye emptying his pockets when he gets home… pic.twitter.com/r9JT2Pd7GR
— Everton1878 (@Everton187841) December 4, 2016
In the midst of the Manchester United postmortem, can't be overlooked how well Idrissa Gueye played. Excellent performance.
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) December 4, 2016
It has to be said Gueye is a fantastic player. Bargain for #efc at just £7M
— Greenstien (@Fan_of_LFC) December 4, 2016
Quality Gueye performance capped by penalty build-up. An Everton midfielder breaking forward and showing initiative is a rarity these days.
— Luke O'Farrell (@lukeofarrell) December 4, 2016
Hey, are we all gonna turn blind eye to the fact that that Gueye dude pocketted Pogba all 90mins, Yes? No?
— Accrington Stanley (@Chopsy__) December 4, 2016
Thank the lord we have Idrissa Gueye though 👌🏼#EFC
— Mark Singer (@msinger_7) December 4, 2016
Can we just save everyones time and give Gueye the fans player of the year award now please.
— Michael Oskoui (@efc_skoui) December 4, 2016
The penalty aside, Gueye is one underrated player
— Chris (@X_ChrisM) December 4, 2016
Gueye is some player. Must have been MOM in every game so far
— jayne mccready (@jaynetoffee) December 4, 2016
This Gueye guy in Everton's midfield is absolutely awesome. Great player.
— TikiTakaConnor (@TikiTakaConnor) December 4, 2016
As you can see, the Everton faithful are over the moon with his performance today and some already want him to be awarded the player of the season. Gueye has been influential for Koeman this season and he is repaying the faith he showed to bring him to Merseyside in the summer, if Everton’s dream of European football is to become a reality, they will be relying on this man to stay fit and firing in that midfield.