David Moyes's 10-man Everton held on to claim an extraordinary 1-0 victory at Manchester United after Idrissa Gueye was sent off just 13 minutes into the match for slapping team-mate Michael Keane. Gueye became the first Premier League player to be dismissed for fighting a team-mate since 2008 after raising his left hand to slap Keane following an argument over a loose pass.
Referee Tony Harrington immediately produced a red card, which was confirmed by VAR Paul Howard. Despite being a man down, Everton stunned Old Trafford by taking the lead through a stunning strike from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the half-hour mark. That goal proved enough to secure Everton's first win at Old Trafford since 2013, when Moyes was United manager, and ended the hosts' recent resurgence under Ruben Amorim.
The red card remained the major talking point. Moyes backed his players afterwards, saying: 'I like my players fighting each other, if someone didn't do the right action. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it.' However, Gary Neville on Sky Sports argued the slap did not warrant a sending off, stating: 'They were not fighting, it wasn't a scrap. It could have been dealt with by a yellow.' The Premier League confirmed the decision, saying the action was 'deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane.'
For Amorim, the defeat marked a year since his first game in charge and served as a reality check. He said: 'These five weeks everyone is praising our evolution. I'm always saying the same things: we are not even near what the moment we're supposed to be in this club.' Former Everton boss Roberto Martinez had no qualms with the red card, stating: 'The referee has no other choice because the law tells you that any aggression above the neck is a red card.'
