Ainsley Maitland-Niles came off the bench to fire a stunning late equaliser as Everton fought back to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League.
Substitute Benjamin Sesko appeared to have sealed victory for United with his header, but Everton struck back in the 96th minute through Maitland-Niles in a thrilling finish.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring shortly after half-time, while Tyrique George netted his first Everton goal to spark a frantic final spell.
United enjoyed plenty of attacking opportunities down the left early on, with Luke Shaw getting ahead of makeshift right-back Merlin Rohl to deliver a cross. Mbeumo headed the ball down for Bruno Fernandes, whose volley crashed against the crossbar.
Marcus Rashford also exploited the space on the left, pulling a low cross into the area. Diogo Dalot allowed it to reach Matheus Cunha, but the forward fired his first-time attempt over the bar.
Everton came close to taking the lead before the break when Thierno Barry rose to meet Rohl’s excellent delivery, only to head wide despite being unmarked.
United needed less than a minute after the restart to break the deadlock. Mbeumo cut inside from the right, skipped past two defenders and curled a low shot beyond Jordan Pickford into the bottom-left corner.
Everton responded with chances of their own, as Brennan Johnson saw his effort deflected over before Shaw halted Barry’s powerful run into the box. James Tarkowski then produced a perfectly timed challenge to prevent Cunha from finishing into an open net.
The Toffees eventually levelled in the 83rd minute. Hayden Hackney poked the ball towards an unmarked George on the right side of the box, and he smashed his finish into the top-right corner.
Five minutes later, Sesko appeared to restore United’s advantage when he met Shaw’s cross and headed past Pickford. The goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the effort but arguably could have done more to keep it out.
However, Everton refused to surrender. In the closing seconds, Maitland-Niles pounced on a poor clearance from Noussair Mazraoui and unleashed a powerful strike into the top-left corner to complete the comeback.
Everton find goals despite striker shortage
United appeared destined for consecutive victories, but Everton showed impressive resilience, recovering from behind twice after a turbulent deadline day.
The Toffees entered the game with only one recognised striker, Barry, following Beto’s move to Fiorentina and their unsuccessful pursuit of Folarin Balogun. Despite that, their attacking approach was evident throughout.
Everton registered 18 attempts, with six testing the target, while George and Maitland-Niles produced the decisive moments that earned them a point.
George scored his first Everton goal in all competitions on his 15th appearance and with his 16th attempt, becoming the club’s youngest league goalscorer (20 years, 214 days) since Jarrad Branthwaite.
Maitland-Niles’ strike, timed at 95:11, became Everton’s latest Premier League goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium. It was also their latest home goal overall since Tarkowski’s effort against Liverpool in February 2025 at Goodison Park (97:08).
United had looked firmly in control immediately after half-time, with Mbeumo continuing his impressive scoring form. The goal was his first Premier League strike against Everton in his 11th appearance against them, coming from his 22nd attempt in those matches.
Instead, United were left frustrated after conceding their latest match-changing goal in the Premier League since April 2024, when Chelsea scored at 100:41.