BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has singled Yerry Mina out for ‘special praise’, after almost keeping the Duncan Ferguson roadshow going unblemished as Everton drew 1-1 at Manchester United on Sunday.
Mina returned to the starting line-up at Old Trafford, having been forced to sit out the 3-1 win over Chelsea after limping off the field at the end of the Merseyside Derby loss away to Liverpool earlier in the month.
The 23-cap Colombia centre-half had otherwise been a mainstay of our Premier League squad this season, with former manager Marco Silva handing Mina starts in 14 of the 15 top-flight matches he oversaw before being fired.
Ferguson would surely have been relieved to be able to turn to Mina on Sunday after watching his performance at Old Trafford, which earned the 25-year-old a place in Crooks’ Premier League Team of the Week for Matchweek 17.
“Everton don’t go to Old Trafford and win many games, but with a little bit of luck, they might have won this one,” Crooks noted in his column for BBC Sport. “Last week, I singled out Mason Holgate for special praise against Chelsea – this week it’s Yerry Mina.
“Had the Colombia international got his block on [Mason] Greenwood’s shot, the Duncan Ferguson roadshow would have continued unblemished and experienced a rare victory against Manchester United.
“Nevertheless, Mina did enough to keep Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford quiet – something Chelsea and Manchester City failed to do.”
Who was your MOTM vs Manchester United?
Mina
Calvert-Lewin
Baines
Holgate
Mina was certainly involved in the action on Sunday to keep the likes of Martial and Rashford quiet, despite falling short of blocking Greenwood’s shot, as the £120,000-per-week centre-half led the game for clearances with eight – Leighton Baines (5) had the second-most.
Our former FC Barcelona defender also won his sole attempted tackle, was never dribbled past, won his only aerial duel and completed 12 of his 18 passes against Manchester United, per WhoScored data.
In other Everton news, many fans have been lambasting a 40-cap Toffees man for his performance in the draw at Old Trafford.