Taking a closer look at the Everton and Manchester United defenders.
Everton defeated Manchester United in impressive style at the weekend, with James McCarthy, John Stones and Kevin Mirallas scoring in a 3-0 victory.
The result maintained the Toffees’ fine recent run and inflicted United’s second consecutive defeat, delivering a blow in their attempts at securing a top-four finish.
Stones was one of the standout performers on the day, but how did he compare with United’s young centre-back Paddy McNair.
The Northern Irishman had a rough ride against Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, but he will have learnt a lot from the encounter, with the future looking bright for both him and Stones.
| Passing Accuracy | Goals | Tackles Won | Effective Clearances | Effective Headed Clearances | Duels Won | Aerials Won | Interceptions Won | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick McNair | 89% | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 90 |
| John Stones | 78% | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 90 |
The Everton player came out on top in terms of goals scored and of course when it came to the overall result. He also won more tackles than McNair while the two players each won two aerial battles.
But under the cosh from a counter-attacking Everton side, McNair outshone Stones in a number of other key areas, including interceptions won, effective clearances (with both his head and his feet) and passing accuracy.
Not that Stones or Everton will be worried about that today. The simple fact is Roberto Martinez got the better of United yet again, showing that Louis van Gaal’s side need to work on alternative ways to win matches if their recent highly-effective Plan A falls short.
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