Goals from Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera have given Manchester United a 2-0 half-time lead over Everton at Goodison Park.
United were enjoying more of the ball in the opening stages of the match but, a wayward Wayne Rooney effort aside, it was all comfortable enough for the hosts to deal with.
Herrera was the next player to try his luck, this time forcing Tim Howard into making a save against his former side as he tipped the shot over the bar.
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From the resulting corner better luck was to arrive for the Red Devils, with the ball not being cleared away and eventually landing to Schneiderlin, who calmly picked out the far corner to open the scoring.
Everton did not look too fazed by the setback, but the deficit was doubled soon after when Herrera headed home from Marcos Rojo's pinpoint cross to make it two.
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The Toffees were almost granted a route back into the game after Romelu Lukaku - one of a select few Premier League players to have scored a hat-trick against today's opponents - got to a cross ahead of David de Gea, only for Chris Smalling to clear up the danger.
While Roberto Martinez's men were boosted by the return of John Stones and Seamus Coleman at the back, they were badly exposed at the end of the opening period as Rooney picked out Anthony Martial for the Frenchman to get a shot away, before Ross Barkley's on-target shot signalled the end of the first half.
Daniel Lewis
