Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko was praised by interim boss Michael Carrick after he came off the bench to score for the third time in four matches in the 1-0 victory at Everton.
Sesko ran on to Bryan Mbeumo’s pass to calmly slot his sixth goal in his last seven appearances – having managed just two goals in his first 17 games for the club this season.
Sesko has still not managed to force his way into the starting line-up and, while Carrick said there was maybe some frustration for the £66m summer signing, the 22-year-old was not complaining.
“I get why everyone’s talking about it and making a bigger deal of it, but I’ve got a really good relationship with Ben,” said Carrick.
“I’ve got no problem with Ben and he hasn’t got an issue. He obviously wants to play, but I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s been and the work he’s putting in and his attitude to come on and do what he’s done again.
“We’ve had some really good conversations and he’s in a really good place, and part of us is helping him take his steps in development and growing him as a player.
“Sometimes that’s little steps, sometimes that’s bigger steps and he’s taken some huge steps recently. That’s great to see.”
Carrick also had praise for Senne Lammens, who kept United’s first league clean sheet away from home since last March.
“For me a goalkeeper has to be reliable, be trustworthy,” he said. “Instead of creating a chaos, you want him to take the chaos away and calm things down. I think Senne does that.”
Everton tried to put Lammens under pressure by stationing a number of players near him at a series of corners in the second half, but to no avail.
Toffees boss David Moyes conceded it was a plan that failed.
The Scot said: “The goalie was bloody brilliant. The save he made from Michael Keane, the way he dealt with the corners.
“We hoped somewhere we’d have got a nick on one of them with the pressure we had in those situations. I thought we would get one, but we didn’t. For me he was the best player on the pitch.”
