United drop points at Everton as Champions League opener against Sabah looms

Manchester United were denied back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season after Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck deep into stoppage-time to earn Everton a 2-2 draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.

United had looked set to claim all three points after Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half, driving infield from the right before slotting past Jordan Pickford. Everton levelled through Tyrique George’s fine finish in the 83rd minute, only for Benjamin Sesko to restore United’s lead with a header shortly after — but Maitland-Niles had the final word with an outrageous late effort that sent the home crowd into raptures.

The result leaves Michael Carrick’s side with four points from their opening three league matches, sitting 11th in the table. Attention now turns to a busy run of fixtures before the first international break of the season.

United’s next five fixtures span three competitions, beginning with their Champions League opener at home to Sabah on 10 September, followed by the Manchester derby against City in the Premier League on 13 September. A Carabao Cup tie against Brighton on 16 September precedes a trip to Fulham on 20 September, with a home Premier League clash against Tottenham rounding out the sequence on 10 October.

Among their rivals, Liverpool host Atlético Madrid on 9 September before Premier League fixtures against Fulham and Bournemouth either side of a Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham. Arsenal travel to Napoli in the Champions League on 9 September, then face Sunderland, Ipswich, Brighton, and Leeds in their following four outings. Chelsea open with a Carabao Cup home tie against Leeds before Premier League games against Hull, Brentford, Bournemouth, and Everton. Manchester City visit Porto in the Champions League on 8 September ahead of the Old Trafford derby, with fixtures against Norwich City, Sunderland, and Liverpool to follow.

With the derby arriving just three days after the Sabah tie, United’s schedule offers little margin for error as Carrick looks to build momentum from a stuttering start to the campaign.