Everton produced one of the great late finishes of the season so far, coming from behind twice to snatch a 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Bryan Mbeumo's early second-half strike put United ahead before Tyrique George levelled with seven minutes to go, only for Benjamin Sesko to restore the visitors' lead with two minutes left on the clock.

It looked to be job done for the Red Devils, until Toffees debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles produced a stunning long-range finish deep into stoppage time to complete the comeback and send the home crowd into raptures.

David Moyes was full of praise for his side's resilience afterwards, saying the result was one his team thoroughly deserved: "For periods we played well. I thought Man United played better than they have done in their other games.

"The first goal we concede is shabby. But I thought if anyone was going to go on and win the game after we equalises it would be us.

"I set out to win. For us, to give the crowd moments, it was a big moment. But I wanted to win and I thought we were capable of winning. I need to win my home games.

There was a touch of irony in the deadline day signing saving the day, as Moyes was quite frank about the chaos of the summer transfer window, which left Everton short of options up front after Beto's sale to Fiorentina and the late collapse of a move for Folarin Balogun.

He called the window "generally difficult" and admitted he was "disappointed that we didn't do more business and things didn't go our way", and the Everton boss also revealed he has never once met or spoken to owner Dan Friedkin since returning to Goodison Park in January 2025, with his only real contact at the club running through chief executive Angus Kinnear and Friedkin's son-in-law, Rishi Majithia.

Speaking on TalkSPORT after the final whistle, Jeff Stelling and Gabby Agbonlahor were left stunned by Moyes' revelation.

"It looks like the owners are looking for a way out. Reportedly, they felt it was a failure not to get into Europe last season. They clearly don't understand the game, do they," Stelling said. "They don't ever go to games and Moyes revealed that he has never spoken to the owners since he has been in charge."

Agbonlahor didn't hold back in his response: "Jokers. Wow, that's odd. Owners should be speaking to the manager straight away."

With Everton down to bare bones up front, a free agent addition before the next window opens is starting to look like an obvious fix - Jamie Vardy was mentioned as an option before his move to Burnley.

Karim Benzema remains available and, even at 38, offers a level of composure few out-of-contract forwards can match. Anthony Martial, still only 30 and out of contract since July, is another name with genuine Premier League pedigree who could be brought in on minimal risk and unlike his compatriot has actually been linked with a move to the Toffees already.