Manchester United suffered back-to-back defeats yesterday for the first time this season as Everton recorded a 3-0 victory over Louis van Gaal's men.

The Toffees had the ball in the back of the net after five minutes when James McCarthy bundled through the United defence before slotting it between David de Gea's legs for 1-0. John Stones doubled the lead for the hosts after his headed effort was too fast for Ashley Young to stop at the far post. Belgian winger Kevin Mirallas, on from the substitutes bench added the final blow as the United defence stopped after an apparent offside to leave the Belgian clean through on goal. Romelu Lukaku was the player offside but didn't interfere with play - virtually gifting Mirallas with the opportunity to seal all three points.

One of the only positives from the game was game time for Robin van Persie who hasn't played since the 2-1 away defeat to Swansea City in February.

The forward returned to action for the under-21s against Leicester last week assisting the equaliser before making a cameo appearance at Goodison Park yesterday.

The 31-year-old replaced captain Wayne Rooney who limped off the pitch and required an icepack on his leg for the remainder of the game. It is no suprise that the Reds are looking for a striker this season with Javier Hernandez unlikely to be with United next season.

Louis van Gaal is a clear fan of van Persie and could offer the Dutchman a new one-year contract to keep him at the club and having scored ten league goals this season, the United manager may try to get one last strong league campaign from him.

Rooney struggled to threaten in yesterday's defeat but has definitely performed better this season when playing up-front. Questions are still being asked about Radamel Falcao once again and where his fututre lies.

It is obvious to see that van Persie can still find the net as he has done it this season and if he stays fit for the remainder of the season and can add a few goals to his name, he may get that contract offer he is wanting to see.

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About the author
Liam Headd
Sports Journalism Graduate | Founder/Writer for NW Football | Contributor for VAVEL | Views are my own.