Everton’s 10-Man Defiance Makes History Against Sleeping Giants Man United

Thirteen minutes in, and the script flipped on its head. Idrissa Gueye—midfield enforcer, Everton’s quiet storm—lost it.

A heated exchange with his own centre-back, Michael Keane. Words turned to a wild swing. Gueye‘s open hand cracked across Keane‘s face like a thunderclap.

Referee Tony Harrington didn’t hesitate: straight red. No VAR debate. No mercy.

Ten men. Away at Old Trafford. Against a Manchester United side that hadn’t tasted defeat here in five games under Ruben Amorim.

What happened next? Everton didn’t fold. They ignited. For 77 gut-wrenching minutes, David Moyes‘ Toffees turned the Theatre of Dreams into a fortress of thorns. Jordan Pickford clawed at crosses like a man possessed.

Seamus Coleman—back from injury, 37 and unbowed—barked orders from the back. And in the 36th minute, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall stepped up. He collected the ball 20 yards out, shrugged off a dozy Bruno Fernandes like yesterday’s trash, danced past Leny Yoro, and unleashed a rocket.

Low, venomous, nestling into the bottom corner past a diving Senne Lammens. 1-0. The away end erupted. The Stretford faithful fell silent.

United? They probed. They prodded. They had 57% possession, 18 shots, zero goals. Amorim‘s men—flush from October’s unbeaten streak—looked like strangers in red.

“We didn’t understand how to play against 10 men,” the Portuguese boss spat post-match, frustration boiling over. “Quality? Decision-making? Non-existent.”

This wasn’t just a win. It was biblical. Everton becomes the first—and only—Premier League side to conquer Old Trafford while down to 10. United had won 36 and drawn 10 of their previous 46 home games against reduced numbers.

Everton? Their last league triumph here: December 2013, a 1-0 under Roberto Martinez. Thirteen barren years. Moyes, visiting boss 17 times before, finally cracked the code.

“Incredibly proud,” he grinned, eyes gleaming. “We got over the line the hardest way. With 10 men.”

Gueye? He apologised in the huddle, head bowed. “I like my players fighting each other,” Moyes quipped, half-serious. “But not like that.” Keane nursed a red mark, but the points healed deeper.

Gary Neville, United legend turned pundit, didn’t sugarcoat: “Complacent. From minute one.” On social media, the mockery rained: “United lost to 10 men? Amorim’s honeymoon’s over.” “Everton: 1, History: 0.”

In the away end, blue scarves waved like victory flags. Dewsbury-Hall, the match-winner on loan from Chelsea, raised a fist: “For the fans who’ve waited too long.”

Old Trafford’s ghosts—Best, Law, Charlton—must have turned away. A derby dagger, self-inflicted madness, and a Toffees triumph that rewrites the record books.One red card. One rocket. One eternal night.

Will this wake the sleeping giant? Or just another scar in United’s endless rebuild?