Everton recorded their first Premier League victory at Manchester United in 12 years despite playing the entire match virtually with 10 men, after midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off on Monday for punching his own teammate, Michael Keane.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s excellent first-half goal secured a 1-0 victory for the visiting side, who ignored the 13th-minute incident that pitted Gueye and Keane against each other.
United, who could have risen to fifth place with a win, dominated possession, especially in the second half, but Everton defended superbly to deny the hosts, who looked blunt in attack.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a number of excellent saves to maintain his side’s lead. Their choice was to deflect away Joshua Zirkzee’s header with ten minutes to go.
A second away win of the season lifted Everton above city rivals and champions Liverpool into 11th place, level on 18 points with United, who sit above them on goal difference.
Everton manager David Moyes had failed to win in 17 previous Premier League games as opposition manager at Old Trafford, and Everton’s most recent win there, in 2013, came when Moyes was in the home dugout during his short reign at United.
That miserable run looked set to continue as Everton made a terrible start when defender Seamus Coleman had to leave injured after 10 minutes.
Even worse was that a bizarre incident would occur shortly afterwards.
After Bruno Fernandes’ shot went just wide following a misunderstanding in Everton’s defense, a heated argument flared up between Gueye and Keane.
After Keane shoved his teammate, Gueye responded with a punch to the defender’s face, prompting referee Tony Harrington to show him a straight red card, with the decision checked and verified by VAR.
It was the first time a Premier League player had been sent off for an altercation with a teammate since Stoke City’s Ricardo Fuller was sacked for punching Andy Griffin during a match against West Ham United in 2008.
At that stage the omens seemed bleak for Everton as United had never lost a Premier League match at Old Trafford against opponents who had a player sent off.
However, Everton responded with the right kind of fight and took the lead in stunning fashion, with Dewsbury-Hall intervening to steer a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area past the dive of the slow-reacting Senne Lammens in the 29th minute.
United struggled to assert their numerical supremacy and, apart from Fernandes’ long-range effort, which was saved by Pickford, offered few attacking options before half-time.
The hosts piled on the pressure after the break as Everton pulled away and Bryan Mbeumo was denied by Pickford before Mason Mount fired a low shot just wide.
Pickford then produced a brilliant save to curl home Zirkzee’s header and then denied the Dutchman again in a frantic finale.
Published on November 25, 2025
