Everton have registered back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time as they beat Manchester United 1-0 to end the Red Devils’ four-match winning streak at Old Trafford, despite being reduced to 10 men early on.
After a promising start, things took an ominous and, quite frankly, bizarre turn when referee Tony Harrington produced a red card for Idrissa Gueye after he struck teammate Michael Keane in the face during an altercation.
However, United failed to capitalise on some fluid play immediately after that, and they were left stunned when the Toffees took an unlikely lead just before the half-hour mark.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was both architect and executor, as he skipped away from a couple of weak challenges on the edge of the area before unleashing a whipped, right-footed strike into the far top corner despite Senne Lammens’ getting his fingertips to it.
United have made a habit of starting strongly of late, scoring first in eight of their opening 11 PL matches, so it was a shock to the system when that was turned on its head.
Off-target efforts from Patrick Dorgu and Amad Diallo showed promise before Jordan Pickford palmed away Bruno Fernandes’ rocket from distance, but the Old Trafford faithful were never really made to believe their side could turn things around before half-time.
Ruben Amorim had clearly instructed his team to apply more pressure after the break, and they totally dominated possession.
Still, end product was lacking, and aside from saving a low shot from Mbeumo, Pickford had little to do heading into the final 20 minutes.
That was followed by Fernandes spooning over after being set up by Mason Mount, prior to Joshua Zirkzee forcing Pickford into a flying save to turn his header past the post.
Pickford was equal to another Zirkzee header in the final moments, but that turned out to be all United had to offer, and their five-match unbeaten run comes to a disappointing end as a result.
Contrastingly, David Moyes will have been delighted with his side’s defensive work to hang onto their lead for so long, as well as the solo goal from Dewsbury-Hall.
It’s only their second win in 33 league trips to Old Trafford, and their first PL win on a Monday since 2021.