Ainsley Maitland-Niles came off the bench and scored a rocket of an equaliser to snatch Everton a last-gasp 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League.

Substitute Benjamin Sesko thought his header had been the final say in an enthralling second half, but United were undone by the debutant in the 96th minute.

Bryan Mbeumo had broken the deadlock just after the break before Tyrique George's first Everton goal set off a flurry of goals in the closing stages.

United found a lot of joy down the left against makeshift right-back Merlin Rohl early on, and Luke Shaw got in front of him to whip in a cross. Mbeumo nodded it down for Bruno Fernandes, who cracked his volley against the crossbar.

Marcus Rashford also found space down that side to pull a low ball into the box, which Diogo Dalot let run for Matheus Cunha, who lashed his first-time effort over the bar.

Thierno Barry arguably had the best opening of the first half, rising high to get on the end of Rohl's superb delivery, but he sent his unmarked header over the crossbar.

Within the first minute of the second half, United were in front as Mbeumo danced away from two defenders while cutting inside from the right to curl his low effort past Jordan Pickford into the bottom-left corner.

Brennan Johnson saw an effort deflected over the bar before Shaw smothered Barry's driving run into the box, while James Tarkowski's perfectly timed tackle denied Cunha a shot at an open goal.

But United were caught out at the back 83 minutes in as Hayden Hackney managed to poke it into the unmarked George on the right of the box, and his emphatic finish flew into the top-right corner.

Sesko – who scored the winner in this exact fixture last season – then got on the end of Shaw's cross five minutes later and nodded past Pickford, who arguably should have done better after getting a hand to the shot.

But it was Maitland-Niles who rounded off the action in the dying seconds as he latched onto a poor poked clearance from Noussair Mazraoui to send a rocket into the top-left corner.

FT. Ainsley Maitland-Niles rescues a point in the 95th-minute with a stunning long-range strike!!! #UTFT

[2-2] #EVEMUN pic.twitter.com/SRnRLzp1zR

— Everton (@Everton) September 6, 2026

Everton not lacking goals despite striker conundrum

United looked set to make it back-to-back wins, but Everton, who made headlines for the wrong reasons after deadline day, dug in deep to twice come from behind.

The Toffees only have one out-and-out striker in Barry after letting Beto join Fiorentina and a failed move for Folarin Balogun, but they showed their attacking intent. 

They had 18 shots on United's goal, getting six on target, and George and Maitland-Niles showed their quality to ensure Everton did not leave empty-handed.

In his 15th appearance and from his 16th shot, George scored his first Everton goal in all competitions, becoming the club's youngest league goalscorer (20 years, 214 days) since Jarrad Branthwaite.

And Maitland-Niles scored Everton's latest Premier League goal (95:11) at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the latest at home overall since Tarkowski against Liverpool in February 2025 at Goodison Park (97:08).

That came after it had all looked so good for United at the start of the second half. Mbeumo continued his scoring streak, netting his first Premier League goal against Everton in his 11th game and from his 22nd shot in those matches.

But instead, they drop two points after conceding their latest result-altering goal in the top-flight since April 2024 against Chelsea (100:41).