Everton FC 3 Man Utd 3: Late Blues fightback earns point (GALLERY)

11 September 2010 16:52
Everton scored twice in stoppage time to snatch a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Manchester United, who left Wayne Rooney out of their squad after a week of allegations about his private life.[LNB] Show Caption nullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnullnull Rooney did not even travel to Goodison Park as manager Sir Alex Ferguson, on the occasion of his 700th Premier League match, claimed he wanted to protect the 24-year-old from abuse from the fans with whom he used to be a favourite.[LNB]The disruption appeared to affect his team-mates early on as they fell behind to a Steven Pienaar goal but Darren Fletcher, Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov put United well ahead before the Toffees' stunning late comeback through Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta.[LNB] Ferguson has overseen plenty of player controversies during his lengthy tenure at Old Trafford, dealing with the likes of David Beckham's celebrity lifestyle and Roy Keane's unique brand of criticism.[LNB]However, leaving out a player to protect him from opposition fans is unprecedented and surely unlikely to be repeated.[LNB]Whether it affected the overall result is open to debate but when the England international next appears, likely to be in Tuesday's Champions League clash against Rangers he will get nothing less than a rousing Old Trafford reception.[LNB]Rooney's absence seemed to affect United more than they expected as, for the first 15 minutes, they found themselves under constant pressure.[LNB]Arteta's sixth-minute free-kick was tipped over by Edwin van der Sar, although referee Martin Atkinson did not spot the goalkeeper's touch.

Source: Liverpool_Echo