Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a stunning 96th-minute equaliser to earn Everton a draw on his debut against Manchester United, and then vowed to work harder than his team-mates after admitting the result felt like a win.
Maitland-Niles was introduced as a 77th-minute substitute at Hill Dickinson Stadium with the Blues trailing 1-0 to a Bryan Mbeumo goal. Tyrique George levelled for the hosts with a fierce strike past Senne Lammens in the 83rd minute, but five minutes later United substitute Benjamin Sesko headed home to put the visitors back in front.
Dramatic debut strike
Maitland-Niles then produced a remarkable strike from distance that flew into the top corner to earn his new club a point, just days after completing his move to Merseyside from Lyon.
"It felt like a win," Maitland-Niles told Sky Sports after the match. "We dug deep and managed to get a point in the end. The crowd were with us and we were fighting to the end and that's why you get those results."
Hard work promise
The midfielder, who had scored only one previous Premier League goal before Sunday afternoon - a strike for Arsenal in a 5-1 defeat to Liverpool in December 2018 - admitted the nature of his goal took him somewhat by surprise, but he vowed to use it as the perfect springboard for his Blues career.
"It's amazing, everyone wants to start off like that and thankfully I did," he said. "The ball fell to me on the edge of the box, I put my foot through it and it ended up in the top corner which I'm happy about."
"I came in to work hard. It's a team full of hardworkers so I fit right in. I'm going to show I can fit right in and pull my weight and give as much as everyone else, if not more."
