Everton’s historic win at Old Trafford should have been celebrated for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s superb strike and David Moyes finally ending his 21-year search for an away victory at the stadium. Instead, the moment was overshadowed by Idrissa Gueye becoming only the third player in Premier League history to be sent off for fighting with a teammate. The bizarre incident occurred in the 13th minute when Gueye recovered the ball in Everton’s box and played a pass into space, expecting Michael Keane to follow through. When Keane failed and Bruno Fernandes nearly capitalised, frustration boiled over. Keane shoved Gueye, prompting the midfielder to retaliate with a slap. Referee Tony Harrington immediately produced a straight red card.
According to Opta, this marks the first such dismissal since 2008, joining infamous incidents like Newcastle’s Bowyer–Dyer fight in 2005 and Ricardo Fuller’s slap on Andy Griffin in 2008. Despite going down to 10 men for 77 minutes, Everton held firm and stunned a lacklustre Manchester United, sealing their first win at Old Trafford since 2013. Gueye’s moment of madness will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, even as Everton secured three points for all the right ones.
