Jose Mourinho has revealed that he dropped Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Manchester United’s starting line-up as he was “not happy” performance against West Bromwich Albion.

The Armenia international was named among the substitutes for Tuesday’s meeting with Everton after being replaced by Wayne Rooney in the 74th minutes of Saturday’s 0-0 draw.

After that stalemate, Mourinho publicly criticised the training level of Luke Shaw and, speaking to BT Sport before Tuesday’s kick-off, he censured his second player in the space of a week.

Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings David de Gea – 4 out of 10 So often the saviour, could have done more to prevent Jagielka’s peculiar goal, like closing his legs for starters. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Ashley Young – 7 out of 10 Offered more offensively than most and tested Everton’s defence with several crosses, but his team-mates failed to make them count. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Marcos Rojo – 4 out of 10 A more assertive centre-half would have clattered Jagielka and won the header that lead to the goal. Too often, Rojo is not that centre-half. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Eric Bailly – 6 out of 10 Dealt with Lukaku in the brief moments he threatened United’s backline on a largely quiet night for the hosts’ defence. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Daley Blind – 5 out of 10 Ineffective going forward first half, hauled off for Paul Pogba at half-time. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Ander Herrera – 7 out of 10 One of United’s brighter sparks but even so, should have done better than hit the bar when latching onto the rebound of Blind’s first half free-kick. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Michael Carrick - 6 out of 10 Struggled to have an impact and often too conservative in his passing when United needed a fresh impetus. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Marouane Fellaini – 4 out of 10 The many United supporters who believe he simply should not be in this team had their arguments boosted. Offers little more than a target on set pieces and a mistimed tackle. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Jesse Lingard – 4 out of 10 Like Fellaini, a display to fuel his critics. Wasteful in the first-half, largely anonymous in the second. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 5 out of 10 Still misses far too many opportunities for a frontman of his quality. Could have got United off to a perfect start but fluffed his lines. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Marcus Rashford – 4 out of 10 A night where his relative inexperience showed. Has good grace and plenty of time on his side to improve, at least. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Joel Robles – 8 out of 10 Recovered from a shaky display in the Merseyside derby to impress. Best save came when acrobatically denying Blind from a free-kick. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Mason Holgate – 7 out of 10 Mature performance from the youngster. Poked a low cross away from Rashford’s toes to keep it 1-0 towards the end of the first half. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Phil Jagielka – 7 out of 10 A quite remarkable finish for his goal and coped well defensively, although aided by United’s lack of pace in forward positions. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Ashley Williams – 4 out of 10 It was all going so well until that late handball. The Wales international wins a lot of plaudits, but this was another mistake in a debut Everton season peppered with them. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Leighton Baines – 6 out of 10 Played his part in a solid defensive display, but would perhaps have had more problems if facing the rested Antonio Valencia. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Idrissa Gueye – 6 out of 10 Swept up and stifled United attacks alongside Barry, though Herrera had the better of him at times. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Gareth Barry – 8 out of 10 The key man in Everton’s backs-to-the-wall resistance, did not mind getting a little dirty. Will have enjoyed one ‘experienced’ challenge on Rashford. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Tom Davies – 7 out of 10 No doubt buoyed by his new contract, the youngster was much better than at Anfield. Showed movement and intelligence breaking into the final third. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Ross Barkley – 6 out of 10 Another player who improved from Anfield, but in Barkley’s case it was not hard. If you’re being harsh, showed little creativity, but battled well. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Kevin Mirallas – 6 out of 10 Brought more invention to the line-up having sat out the majority of the derby. He and Lukaku were not on the same wavelength at times, however. Manchester United 1 Everton 1 player ratings Romelu Lukaku – 5 out of 10 At times guilty of not holding the ball up well enough and inviting pressure on his team, but his all-round display was an unselfish one for the cause.

When asked why Mkhitaryan had been dropped to the bench, Mourinho said: “The thinking is because I am not happy with Mkhi's performance in the last match and Pogba was not ready to play last Saturday, is because after 48 hours he is not in the best of his game so good to have him on the bench to give one more option.”

Rooney, United’s club captain, was left out of the matchday squad entirely, though Mourinho claimed the 31-year-old was suffering from “pain in both ankles” and could not train on Monday.



Antonio Valencia was rested for the visit of Everton, with Mourinho claiming that the right-back, one of United’s stand-out performers this season, was “really, really tired” following the draw with West Brom.