Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a dream stoppage-time equaliser on his Everton debut to earn a 2-2 draw against Manchester United and lift the mood at the end of a difficult week.

Deadline day ended in disappointment for fans of both clubs but the Toffees’ inaction was particularly concerning given Tuesday’s botched business left them with a threadbare squad and an unhappy manager.

David Moyes admitted he had “to live with disappointments” and called for Everton players to “muck in”, but Sunday looked set to end in further frustration after substitute Benjamin Sesko’s 88th-minute header put United on course for a late victory.

Tyrique George’s thunderous strike had cancelled out a fine Bryan Mbeumo effort moments earlier but the Slovenia international would not prove United’s match-winning substitute for the second time at Hill Dickinson Stadium this year.

Instead, deadline-day acquisition Maitland-Niles came off the bench to rifle home from distance to snatch a dramatic late point and spark bedlam.

It was a box office end to what had been an otherwise prosaic encounter.

Bruno Fernandes rattled the crossbar early on with a volley after Mbeumo cushioned a cross from Luke Shaw – who was linking up well with Marcus Rashford – but United largely bossed first half play without penetration.

Matheus Cunha drilled over after Rashford brilliantly made space to cutback but lifeless Everton so nearly took the lead late as Thierno Barry crashed a header just over after losing Harry Maguire.

Jarrad Branthwaite saw drilled a stoppage-time effort saved before a break that United returned from flying.

Mbeumo brilliantly drove in from the right flank, skipping between two napping Everton players before sending a low left-footed strike from the edge of the box skipping past Jordan Pickford in the 46th minute.

The Everton roar that seen the side off at the break was replaced by quiet resignation until Barry turned into space to get away a shot that Shaw blocked brilliantly before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s under-hit follow-up.

But groans were still more commonplace than cheers and James Tarkowski’s crunching challenge as Cunha prepared to pull the trigger after Rashford’s clever backheel stopped them conceding again.

Dewsbury-Hall was trying to eke out a leveller and Moyes turned to deadline-day arrival Jack Grealish, who was greeted by United chants of “City reject”.

Mbeumo saw an effort blocked but United were offering little, with Lammens all too easily beaten in the 83rd minute.

Lisandro Martinez’s poor touch on the edge of his box was lapped up and summer signing Hayden Hackney played wide to George, who made space to rifle a shot from a narrow angle into the top right corner.

More drama soon followed and Sesko looked to have got United out of jail in the 88th minute.

Fernandes played onto the overlapping Shaw, whose clipped cross was met with a header that Pickford failed to claw out.

United just needed to hold out against a side that had lost key man James Garner to injury but his replacement would send Evertonians wild in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The ball fell kindly for the right-back, signed from Lyon on Tuesday, 25 yards and out his first-time effort flew past Lammens, leading to a celebratory pile on.