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Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised ‘top striker’ Edinson Cavani after he scored in the 2-0 victory over Everton.
The Red Devils started brightly at Goodison Park, emulating their performance against Leeds.
But Everton eventually grew into the match which made it a more even affair.
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Fans had to wait until the 88th-minute for the first goal. Edinson Cavani was found by teammate Anthony Martial.
He then managed to cut inside before hitting a brilliant strike past keeper Robin Olsen with his left foot.
The Toffees then went looking for an equaliser, which left them open at the back.
Marcus Rashford played an important role in a United counter attack and sent Martial through on goal.
The Frenchman finished off the move to send his team into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
They have now been drawn against rivals Man City.
Speaking after the victory, Solskjaer said: “You never know what will happen in football, the first goal always changes games. As long as we were in the game I knew my substitutes could come on and make an impact.
“Luke [Shaw] has strength and power down the side so we tried to swap the dynamics of the game.
“Very good start. The first 20-25 minutes we were excellent and should’ve been two or three goals up. They made a few good saves and then had a good spell just before half time, but the last 20 minutes or so we played well.
“It was cagey at times – there and back and flowing, attacking and defending but you’re always confident if it opens up a bit with the pace we have.
“Edinson Cavani should’ve scored three in the first half but he is a top striker – his movement, quality. The goal was excellent.”
Everton fans might argue that Cavani was lucky to remain on the pitch after he seemed to lash out at Yerry Mina.
When asked about the incident, Solskjaer replied: “Nothing in it, two South Americans that have had a few battles before, they met in Copa America qualifiers so no. This was a proper game of football, with fans, tackles, yellow cards and chances at both ends. I enjoyed it.”
Speaking about Man Utd’s chances of winning the cup, Solskjaer stated: “We know that when we defend well we have players to win us the game. The spirit in camp is good, winning gives energy and gives you a boost so we head into Boxing Day positive.
“A semi-final is sometimes worse than the final because it’s the worst possible time to lose a game and go out of the competition.”
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