Manchester United fell to a dismal 0-1 defeat at the hands of David Moyes’ Everton side last night, despite the Toffees playing with 10 men for the majority of a disappointing match at Old Trafford. In a bizarre twist, Idrissa Gueye was dismissed for striking his own teammate, Michael Keane, in the face in the 13th minute following a confrontation over a misplaced pass. The visitors had begun the game far brighter than United – a point Ruben Amorim lamented in his post-match analysis – but the red card gave a lifeline to the Red Devils to reclaim control over the match. It was one they failed to capitalise on, however, with Everton outplaying their opponents for the remainder of the first half, taking the lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the 29th minute. United were unable adapt to the unexpected one-man advantage for the remainder of the half – a potential flaw in the dogmatic application of a three-at-the-back system, where there was no need for three centre-backs. The performance improved after the interval, but better than terrible is not good. The Red Devils continued to struggle to create meaningful chances and, outside of two good saves by Jordan Pickford, did not come particularly close to scoring. It was United’s first defeat in five – but one Amorim revealed was never far away, despite the growing positivity at Old Trafford, because his players are “not even near the moment we are supposed to be in this club.” Manchester United vs Everton – Statistics StatisticsMan UnitedEverton Goals01 xG (Expected Goals)1.660.23 Possession69.6%30.4% Shots253 Shots on Target61 Corners91 Fouls129 Yellow Cards20 Red Cards01 Speaking after the match, the typically blunt Portuguese coach did little to hide his disappointment with the performance, much more than the 0-1 result. Frustration and Disappointment When asked about his overall feeling about the match, Amorim was quick to praise Everton’s spirited display – one which stood in contrast to his own team’s. “Frustration, disappointment about the way we play the game. I think they were the better team with 11, they defend really well with 10 men [for] 70 minutes. So I think we deserved to lose, we didn’t play well, we didn’t play with the right intensity, and that’s it. “Yeah, we talk about this a lot of times. I know which point we are in the moment, I have that feeling during this run. I will always talk about that. So we are not there, not even near, the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league, we have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win games, and we were not perfect today.” Amorim acknowledged the absences of Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko – both missing through injury – as significant, but no excuse given the extra man advantage his side enjoyed for the majority of the match. “Of course, when you have more players with different characteristics, especially with Cunha or Ben [Sesko], you have more options to score goals, especially against low blocks where there’s no space. But that is just an excuse, we have players on the pitch, and we could lose the game but with a different intensity, the understanding of the moment when the other team fight each other and get the red card. And I think we didn’t understand the moments of the game during the 90 minutes. That is my fault, that I need to be better to explain the players how to play in every situation of the game. Again, I think they start the game with a different intensity and that was really hard for us.” “I think it’s… I know, but it’s also, when I say it’s my responsibility, it’s my responsibility to explain the game, and today was not one mistake of one individual, it was the team. The way we see the results of the weekend, we should get inside the pitch with a different excitement, that is my feeling, it doesn’t matter if you are playing well, making good passes, but the feeling. And Old Trafford was there saying we are all here to give a big step-up and I felt that we were not ready again. These five weeks, everyone is praising our evolution, I’m always saying the same things: we are not even near the moment we are supposed to be in this club.” Flashbacks to Last Season Amorim has cut a far rosier figure at Old Trafford in recent months, after appearing close to breaking point at times over the past twelve months, notably in the immediate aftermath of the defeat to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season. But this display from his side was such that he is “afraid” of a return to the abject feeling surrounding the club last year. “Also, that is one of the reasons, but I feel afraid of returning of this feeling of last season, that is my biggest concern. So we need to work together, we are going to work together, I’m not going… The players are trying but we need to be better. We have training tomorrow and we are going to prepare the next one. “We need to find a way, so it’s not that we can… I don’t like to say we can: we can, we show. And then like you said, it’s one game by week, it’s not back-to-back games, so we need to be ready for these kind of games. And again, 20 minutes in the game, red card for the opponent, we need to win this game no matter what, no matter the situation. So it’s a lot of frustration, but, again, we need to… I have that feeling we have a lot to do, and we have a lot to do, and we are going to do it.” Amorim has often spoken about knowing how a game will unfold just minutes after kick off, with the manner his players begin the game dictating their performance across the whole ninety. And last night was the perfect example, with Everton starting far better than United – a reality which did not change, despite the Merseyside club going down to ten so early on. “First of all, it was also 11 v 11, I felt, since the first moment, you can feel it. And then fighting is not a bad thing, fighting doesn’t mean that they don’t like each other, fighting is that you lose the ball, I will fight you because we will suffer a goal, that was my feeling when I watch. I don’t agree with that sending off, so I’m going to say that. It was we can fight with the team-mate, I know it’s violent conduct, the referee explains. I don’t agree with that. I hope my players when they lose the ball, they fight each other. Now, they cannot get sent off. But that is a good feeling, not a bad feeling. Again, my players show in many games that we can do it. Today, we didn’t, I need to help them, we are going to help them, we are going be better in the future, and, today, we are really frustrated.” The fact that Amorim specifically referenced the incident between Gueye and Keane as a “good feeling” – because of the (literal) fight the Everton pair were willing to show in the match – was undoubtedly a pointed message to his own players. United were not up for the fight last night – and it’s little wonder they suffered a devastating knockout blow as a result. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Darragh Darragh is an editor for The Peoples Person who spent three years learning about the Cold War at the University of Sheffield slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about. Amad’s first touch should be officially recognised as the eighth wonder of the world.
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