The United goalkeeper did not raise his fists after seeing a goal by Anthony Gordon that was deflected to cause the third defeat in his team in five games – a series that includes only one victory – and further reduce their hopes for the first four. “It’s a shame for us, to be honest, we have to win the game,” De Gea told BT Sport. “We do not create, that is the problem. We do not even create the right opportunities for goals. I do not know what to say, to be honest. “We are not good enough, that’s for sure. It will be very difficult now to be in the top four.” United, who last played a week ago as they drew 1-1 with Leicester, were beaten by Everton despite the hosts having just two full days of recovery after Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat by Burnley for relegation. “We knew in advance that they are having a hard time, but how difficult it is to play here, even when they are not in a good mood, but they play with more desire,” he said. “They played on Wednesday, they were tired, they were a little nervous, you felt it, even with that we lose the game. “Of course it’s not the perfect atmosphere. But you could see they were tired, they were nervous and come on, they keep going and fighting to win. They wanted more than us. That is not acceptable and it is very sad. To lose today.”

Rangnick: The top four are tough right now

  Image: Ralph Rangnick escapes to Goodison Park

United boss Ralph Rangnick said the top four after the match looked difficult to reach now after a five-game Premier League victory. “If you do not score a single goal in 95 minutes, we have to be disappointed. We made a good start and we should have created more opportunities than this dominance. Then we received a shot that was repulsed and we lost our temper a bit. “In the second half we tried to add creativity with changes, but we did not always make the right decision. “We had to do something. We needed a goal and we decided to bring Mata and more perpendicularity with Elanga. They defended with their players in the last 35 minutes. We did not find the right player at the right time. “We do not have enough players in the box when we played crosses.” “It’s not just creativity. I think we had a lot of creative players on the pitch. It also has to do with being quite physical in the last third, being physical and trying to score a goal. We didn’t have enough players in the area.” Regarding United’s hopes in the top four, he added: “It is difficult. As long as we do not win our own games, it does not make sense to hope for good results from the other teams. “Fred had some muscle problems in his hip flexor. We are already without McTominay. Without both defensive midfielders it is not good for us.” Ten Hague’s imminent announcement could well be seen as an unwelcome distraction for Rangnik, but he said: “I do not think that’s an excuse. We are Manchester United. We have a lot of international players. There has to be no alibi. “There will be a new coach next season. If this is announced now or in 10 days, it will not have an impact.”

So many changes, but so many are the same at United

  Image: Marcus Rasford had two good chances early on

Sky Sports Ben Grounds in Goodison Park. This high stakes clash was the opposite of the meeting between Liverpool and the other Manchester team this weekend. Man City vs Liverpool represents a meeting of two of the game’s greatest minds, a masterpiece between the protagonists of a league title in their own category. Instead, Goodison Park hosted a festival of the doomed that included two clubs desperately in need of a restoration. But Everton is not dead. This was a step in the right direction. It was this year three years ago that they arguably made their best performance in Farhad Moshiri’s time against Manchester United, beating them 4-0 to provoke a memorable rebuke from Gary Neville. The defeat revealed all the problems faced by Ole Gunnar Solskier. A fifth consecutive away defeat for the first time since 1981 would have contributed to their failure to qualify for the Champions League. “I have often said that clubs over the last seven years, if you have weeds in the garden, then you have to get rid of them,” Neville said. “But there is some Japanese knotweed in this football club and it is attacking the foundations of the house. It needs to be dealt with properly.” So much has changed and yet so much has remained the same at United, who seem no closer to competing for the big prizes.

The other games of Manchester United

April 16 – Norwich April 19 – Liverpool (a), live on Sky Sports April 23 – Arsenal (a) May 2 – Brentford (live), live on Sky Sports May 7 – Brighton (a), live on Sky Sports May 15 – Chelsea (live), live on Sky Sports * May 22 – Crystal Palace (a)

  • Subject to change due to the FA Cup final