Jonny Evans says Chicharito winner against Everton vindicated Sir Alex Ferguson’s weakened Manchester United team selection

Javier Hernandez, Manchester United

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Manchester United defender Jonny Evans admits that he thought boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s line-up choices for Saturday’s game against Everton was risky.

The Toffees travelled to Old Trafford to face a United team without captain Nemanja Vidic and Park Ji-Sung while Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra were dropped to the bench.

Ferguson’s choice came in a bid to rest key players ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League
semi-final against Schalke.

With seven minutes left on the clock, the Scot’s gamble seemed to have taken the toll on the Red Devils’ title hopes but Hernandez expelled all doubts with a header that took them closer to becoming the British team to win 19 titles.

Evans told reporters: “The manager made an awful lot of changes, including myself, and there were people who had not played for a while,

“It was a big gamble. I am sure some people thought that when they looked at the team sheet. But that is what the manager does and it has paid off.

Hernandez was not the only one lavished with praise. Wayne Rooney gave out an impressive performance as a pivot in the midfield while Anderson was named man-of-the-match for his crafty display.

Evans played the best football of his career so far next to star defender Rio Ferdinand and hailed Hernandez for scoring the winner.

The Mexican player joined United a year ago on a £7million fee and Evans believes he is one of the best buys of the season.

He added: “You could say that because of the number of important goals he has scored for us,

“We got to see little glimpses of him during the World Cup and you could see he had pace, but no-one knew much about him.

“He reminds me of an old-fashioned type centre-forward. People don’t realise he is quite a strong lad with a great jump. Also, he knows where the goal is.”