Aston Villa edge injury-hit Tottenham to move two points off Premier ...

Manchester United needed to produce something extraordinary to quieten a home crowd at Goodison Park seething with anger and resentment.

Alejandro Garnacho did just that by scoring one of the greatest goals ever seen in the Premier League.

Leaping high in the air with his back to goal, the Argentina winger produced a spectacular bicycle kick from 15 metres that sent the ball flying into the top corner and – if only briefly – muted tens of thousands of protesting Everton fans.

The third-minute strike set United on course for a 3-0 win over Everton, but the score will not be the thing people remember from this fiery, volatile occasion.

The match was played to a backdrop of protests by Everton supporters furious at what they perceived to be an over-the-top sanction – a record 10-point points deduction – for financial mismanagement issued by a disciplinary commission last week.

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Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho scores a spectacular overhead kick against Everton.

This was the first game since that punishment and Everton fans marched in their thousands to the stadium, holding up pink cards featuring the word “corrupt” and the logo of the Premier League, and chanting “We shall not be moved.”

On one huge banner read the message: “Where there is power, greed and money ... there is corruption.”

The protests continued inside the stadium and it was into this cauldron that United's players walked, ahead of what would be a real test of character for Erik ten Hag's team.

Garnacho's goal was crucial in dampening the atmosphere somewhat, even if those pink cards stayed aloft for much of the game and there was a huge chant in the 10th minute – marking the 10 points docked – accusing the league of corruption.

Peter Byrne/AP

Alejandro Garnacho's goal drew immediate comparions with one scored by Wayne Rooney in 2011.

Marcus Rashford – from the penalty spot – and Anthony Martial added more goals in the second half for United, who have won five of their last six Premier League games and are six points behind leaders Arsenal after 13 games.

Everton, hit by the points deduction, are second bottom and above Burnley only on goal difference. The Toffees are now five points from safety and potentially destined for another season fighting relegation after only preserving their 69-year top-flight status on the final day of the 2022-23 campaign.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Aston Villa defender Pau Torres heads in their equaliser against Spurs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Aston Villa came from behind to win 2-1 at injury-hit Tottenham and move two points off the top of the Premier League on Sunday (Monday NZT).

Ollie Watkins found space at the heart of a makeshift Spurs defence to roll a shot into the bottom corner in the 61st minute, scoring his seventh league goal of the season and completing the turnaround by Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was a third straight league loss for Tottenham, whose campaign was in danger of unravelling when not long ago the team managed by Ange Postecoglou were in first place.

Joining a lengthy list of injuries and – in the case of Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma – suspensions was Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who was making his first start after eight months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced off after a foul by Matty Cash.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates with Leon Bailey after scoring his side's second against Tottenham.

Villa climbed to fourth place, tied on points with Liverpool in third and two points behind leaders Arsenal after 13 games. Tottenham is two points behind Villa in fifth.

Giovani Lo Celso, playing as a replacement for injured playmaker James Maddison, lashed in a deflected shot from the edge of the area for the opening goal for Tottenham in the 22nd minute after Villa failed to clear a right-wing corner.

Watkins had a goal ruled out for offside almost immediately after the restart, Bentancur went off injured, and Villa then equalised in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time when Pau Torres headed in Douglas Luiz’s free kick.

Villa saw more of the ball in the second half and after Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario tipped a shot from substitute Leon Bailey onto the post and away, the visitors took the lead when Watkins exchanged passes with Youri Tielemans and sent a low shot beyond Vicario from a central position.

Tottenham applied late pressure as goalkeeper Emi Martinez produced a double save to deny Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg before Son Heung-min had a goal disallowed for offside.

There was a minute’s applause ahead of the game and both sets of players wore black armbands as a tribute to Terry Venables, the former England and Tottenham coach whose death was announced on Sunday (Monday NZT). He was 80.

AP