MANCHESTER United crashed to their second successive Premiership defeat at Goodison Park and finished the game with nine men.
Both Gary Neville and Paul Scholes received their marching orders as Everton managed a league victory over their illustrious opponents for the first time in 10 years.
It was Duncan Ferguson who got the winner a decade ago and the giant Scot scored the decider again, early in the second half to send the home supporters crazy.
From then on it was United - who lost to Norwich last time out in the league - who lost their heads.
First, Neville was dismissed for kicking the ball into the crowd and then, in stoppage time, Scholes saw red for kicking out at Kevin Kilbane.
And, when the dust had settled, Everton were still entrenched in fourth spot regardless of Liverpool's win at Portsmouth that put them back in fifth but still three points behind their local rivals.
The Toffees were without skipper Alan Stubbs and full back Alessandro Pistone, both injured, which meant that Steve Watson and Joseph Yobo played in defence.
United made one change from the side that reached the FA Cup final with Sunday's demolition of Newcastle, Quinton Fortune dropping to the bench with Darren Fletcher in the starting line-up.
Wayne Rooney received a far more muted reaction on this second return to Goodison Park than he did the first time in the highly-charged FA Cup tie in February.
Booing
There was little more than regulation booing as he got off the coach and for his first few touches of the ball.
But there were also smiles from the teenager, and he even ruffled the hair of the young Everton mascot before the start.
Everton were out of the traps like men possessed, flying into tackles and hurling in the high balls, and Rooney managed to pick up a bloody nose when the ball hit him in the face following a Tony Hibbert clearance.
But running from deep, Rooney was a constant danger. On seven minutes he collected the ball 30 yards out and unleashed an instant drive that Nigel Martyn could only beat away at full stretch.
The pace was maintained, Everton made sure of that, but United's speed on the counter and the quick-fire passing of Rooney, Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo kept Everton at full stretch.
But United did not enjoy the aerial assault, and Rio Ferdinand even less a thunderous tackle from Ferguson.
In all this physical stuff, it was little Mikel Arteta who finally found himself booked following a succession of infringements, handball being the one that saw referee Phil Dowd lose patience. The official soon had Scholes' name in the book too, for a foul on the Basque midfielder.
Everton continued to unnerve United and, when Lee Carsley pumped in the free-kick, Tim Howard was all at sea. Roy Keane headed away and Tim Cahill saw a hooked effort turned off the line by Wes Brown.
Everton were direct, determined and hounded United out of their usual composed style. Only Rooney looked up for it and he cut inside Carsley to send a curling effort wide of the post.
Chance
United almost scored soon after the break with their best move of the match, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Rooney combining to send Scholes clear in the box but Martyn was off his line in a flash to block the close-range effort.
Ferguson, who had just clattered Howard, launched himself at Fletcher and was booked.
The full-frontal assault on United continued, no-one was allowed a second to breath let alone lift their head to make a pass and Ferguson and Bent were working their socks off shutting down defenders.
And, when Ronaldo gave away a free-kick way out on the right on 55 minutes, Everton got the chance to go ahead.
Arteta's free-kick swung into the box and Ferguson got away from Ferdinand to send a fierce, low header past Howard.
The man looking to enlarge his already substantial salary from United got nowhere near the former Scotland striker and was hating every moment of the confrontation.
Rooney was lucky not to be cautioned for flattening Watson as United tried to respond.
Ronaldo and Scholes both blazed decent chances over but United were generally unable to break out of the stranglehold Everton had them in.
Ronaldo saw a fierce 15-yard drive blocked by Martyn when he should really have scored, United now desperate for any form of parity.
But their plight was soon to worsen. On 71 minutes Gary Neville kicked the ball into the crowd, directly into some Everton supporters sitting close to the byline. Referee Dowd instantly produced the red card and United were down to 10 men.
Everton were now winning every battle and, when Ronaldo dived in the box for the second time in the game, referee Dowd produced a yellow card. The youngster had made an angle for a shot, but chose to collapse at the slightest touch.
United finished with nine men when Scholes was sent off in injury time for a wild kick at Kevin Kilbane, having already been booked.
What is your verdict on the match? Have your say.
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gary give up football. you are trash you should be ashamed of wearing the red and white you are a disgrace .
Rubbish wake up 4-5-1 doesn't work especially if you rely on Ruud his scoring rate in the premeirship is rubbish. He only scored on Sunday due to the fact Newcastle didn't turn up. And has for Fletcher the talisman my god!! rubbish, he should be made to play for Mossley on loan for a season, might give himn a bit of fire in his belly. Bring back Beckham is all I can say, at least theres one player who always gave 100% for that Red Shirt. Pathetic, lose the final which we willl on these recent performances and we end another season has also rans and having to q, Cantona another, not many have a heart big em=nought
enough is enough fergie GET OUT.
I NOW THINK HE HAS TAKEN THIS GREAT SIDE AS FAR AS HE CAN.
you can also take rudd with you (was he playing tonight)
gary that was a stupid thing to do while paul scholes what was he thinking about you would have seen red for that alone.
now to our so called world center-half where were you on the defending nowhere as i think your defending was at stamford bridge you can go to.
why in the hell can this team not cross a ball ,the corners when did united last score from one of them.
bring an end to all and all get out if that is what you all want
tonight not one of you were united players you are a disgrace to the club.
how the hell does this team not score i just do not have an answer to it. but i know they will not win the championship next year and for the cup THE OUTCOME IS SO SIMPLE IN IT'S CASE FER-GET-IT. if they carry on playing like this.
Oh well, here we go again....
I think on the domestic front we might as well call it quits now and settle for third!! If SAF is still at the helm by the end of this Summer, he needs to clear out a LOT of dead wood... and use the little we get for them to resolve midfield ASAP!! Ruud only got 1 clear chance tonight as far as I can recall... If he hasn't got the service from midfield.... what can he do??
Will someone have the gumption to tell Ronaldo that you can get away with diving on the Continent but not here in England. The Ref at Goodison was aware of Ron's antics from the start... OK, so he's still young but come on... he needs to be told!!
There's a lot I'm annoyed about with tonight's result.. It's the Norwich scenario all over again...
Gary Neville, you should know better!!
Scholesy... well, by God lad... you can't tackle... so why do what you did!!
Grrrrrrrrr
Oh and yeah...
If Rio is worth his salt.. he should of picked up Big Dunc.. Quite frankly if you want a ridiculous B#120, 000 a week.. start showing your quality Rio!!
If not, Blueski you can have you!!
Against an Arsenal side that can hold their own away to Blueski this evening, the "prospects" in Cardiff don't bode well!! I hope United prove me wrong, but on this result tonight, the night of the long knives draws ever closer for SAF!!!
Is Gary Neville the Camp Cantona??? instead of hitting the lout with a Karate kick - he slaps him with his handbag by passing the ball to him? Maybe he thought Wayne Rooney was in the crowd - the Everton fans do seem to all look as Neanderthal as him! Seems you've been thunderstruck ....nanananana!
Oh dear why did Mr Ferguson carry on - he is becomming a laughing joke! If only he had of retired with respect.... should take some lessons from the number one team in Manchester (ie: Keegan resignation). Richest team in the world and you can't compete with Chelsea?! You should put Rooney in your youth side for a few years - he's not ready to perform week in week out - you have ruined him - gave him to much money and lost his passion for football!
how many times does fergie need to lose without scoring to realise this crap formation does not work.for god's sake man change the system.I knew he would blame the ref,I also knew ronaldo would keep diving even i'm sick of seeing him do it.we are in trouble we need more than a couple of changes,something is not quite right at ot.
Well, we still can't score, can we? Pretty scary, but when Everton scored I did really not believe we would reply, even though there were some 40 minutes left on the clock. That's a new problem, it's a real problem, and frankly, our only problem. You can't really legislate against a Duncan Ferguson header at Goodison, can you, the point is we used to score at least two goals per game...
16 matches this year without scoring, who'd believe that when we scored 97 in the league 5 years ago... Mostly it has to do with our no 10. Patently, Ruud is still way off form. It's excruciating to watch him when we all have another picture of him in our hearts. Today he was abysmal. First touch terrible, turn gruellingly slow, and he tended to kick holes in the air when he tried to shoot. This is really Ruud van Nistelrooy? Not an impostor? Another thing - and we ought to complain formally, because lots of it's on video - we were kicked and harried all the time, and this time Ronaldo did NOT dive: Weir both hits him in the chest, with his fist for crying and loud (got it on tape, played it six times to be sure), AND trips him. So I was not best pleased with the ref. Especially disgusted with the way they clattered our lads after we had played the ball, and after the ref had looked away, making sure we couldn't play one-twos. Had the ref followed the rules, Everton should have been down to seven men. Very disappointed by Moyes who must have engineered it, but the looming CL place probably eats away at decency... So a sad night all round.
Why dont Fergie buy 2 ot 3 defenders more for next season, AND LET EM PLAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARK..!!!
O`Shea is NOT a midfielder and will never be a midfielder..
I think that Fergie has lost it..Putting a defender on for a midfielder when we are a goal down!!!!Well hellow....When are Kleber og Miller, they are two players that are good with the ball at there feets (and there is where the ball should be when Manshester United plays).....Now when everything is lost, he has to start rebuilding for next season.
Give the forgoten boys a run in the team, and I do not mean "Fortune and P.Neville.
That was terrible. Champion's League? You're having a laugh! (And I'm not talking about Everton!) I don't begrudge Scholes and Neville for their petulance - in fact, I think Gary just cemented his place as a United legend! It was just "one of those nights" and those two had to let off some steam. That said, it's another defeat and I'm starting to think that this season has been even worse than last. This surely means something that many United fans have been thinking for a while: we are not improving, only getting worse. My money's now on Arsenal for the cup. As for Ferdinand... Marking Duncan Ferguson was HIS responsibility and he didn't seem to care. Oh well, no surprise there then. B#110,000 a week? Chelsea are welcome to him.
Holy new Popes, are we bad or are we bad? Sell everyone.
Really disappointed that we couldnt beat such a primitive team. Once again we huff and puff but no end product. Heintze had a nightmare, and neville and fletcher should keep their mouths shut and concentrate on football. Ruud totally isolated but no longer able to find space. Rio 120 k a week please!!! Scholes and Keane slow the play up and p*ss poor of Ronny to fall over in the area again. Only bright spot was Rooney who could have won us the game on his own. Anyone feel really confident about may 21???? will we play 4-6-0 and aim for penalties? or what other brilliant tactical plan do SAF and Carlos have.
Right Fergie now's the time to give an extended run to the likes of Rossi,Spector,Bellion and Kleberson and perhaps the young keeper Heaton to see how they measure up. You can't lose anything we are going to finish third anyhow. So show some bottle and give them ago.
me and the lads will be chanting 4-4-2 on sat please join in -fergie might just listen,we are also taking a4 paper with 4-4-2 on,the more the merrier get yourself on sky tv and wave to your mum.
I actually hope MU will not win a single match from now till end of season so that nobody can come up with any further excuses ("poor referee"..give me a break!) and drastic actions will then be taken.
THEY ARE ALL DRAMING!I DON'T NO THEY STILL WANT TO REMAIN THE TITLE,IF STILL LIKE THAT PERFORMENT,(F A CUP) NO NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT!! I AM VERY SAD....
Yup. thought this was the game to prove that the Newcastle game was not a false dawn, and it has surely proved that it was. There is something seriously wrong at old trafford and i cant figure out what. Is this the same team that was cruising in December & January, whipping both Liverpool & Arsenal away as well as 'bogey club' boro? Either the players have given up on the league and will only turn up on May 21st or there is serious internal strife at old trafford. Either way, its sad to see Fergie going down so ignominously.
M. Percy, thank god you moved to Ontario. We don't need your kind in Stretford..Gary Neville a disgrace??? He's pure red. His only disgrace was he kicked it too soft at the scouser.
However, to the people on here who believe we have the "best centre half in the world"..hopefully tonight makes you think again. Its alright being classy, being able to pass and intercept and generally not get your hair in a mess, but when you are playing against the likes of Shearer, Ferguson..and Crespo, who get stuck in when the ball is in the air and on the ground, it is about preparing to throw your body at the ball like Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Kevin Moran and others of that ilk. Instead, in the last two games we have had the comical site of the worlds best defender (Nesta must have a laugh everytime he reads that) going for head high balls with his feet and his back turned. Against Newcastle he connected with Shearers head (maybe well done), but today he was so scared he didn't even get close to Ferguson's head and we are one-nil down. Aganst Milan in Milan he was 10 yards from Crespo!!!! I want a centre half who can head a ball, I want two strikers playing up front together, and I want 11 players that show the same passion as Everton showed today.
How about fining players for behaviour such as that of Gary N.? Maybe loss of three weeks wages would help it sink in. As for paying Rio for 8 months leave...Is that how today's "world's best" reward loyalty from management?!?
BAD REFEREE WILL COST A TEAM DOWNFALL AND EVEN MADE THE PLAYERS FEEL FUSTRATED. AND ITS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN MANCHESTER UNITED GAMES.
PLAYERS DON'T FEEL PROTECTED.
I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I SAW DURING THE MATCH, EVERYTHING IS GOING AGAINST MU. TELLING FANS AROUND THE WORLD THAT THEY ARE STOPPING MU TO REACH 2ND POSITION OR WHAT EVER......
Another woeful performance by a team in rapid decline - reckon you will be doing well to hold on for that 4th position.
Something is telling me that things are not quite right currently. This system that we have adopted just does not work and we look very uncomfortable. Lets go back to our attacking ways and see if Rio can justify his pay rise!!!
I was only able to watch the second half as the first was not shown on the TV we access here. As a man united fan, I was left humiliated. But anyway, what did I expect from a team that could only be beaten by Norwich.
We have come back to where we started the season; disappointment. Even young children know the team nust be rebuilt, right from management. When senoir players get sent off for the most unimaginable of mistakes, you don't ask whetther the team is in crisis, for it is.
We shall be lucky to retain third position even if the remaining games are few. I do not even see the team retaining the FA Cup, on current form.
The season is gone; but Gill and co must begin working on the changes that are needed to get the club back to winning ways. I hope they hae the courage.
Well what can I say... Poor game from United. Poor managment from the bench! What on earth is Fergie thinking about when we are 1-0 down, putting in another defender? Oshea whos not have had a game for long time. And what is it with Scholes and Ruud? Everytime when they play badly(and that is alot these days) they still is aloud to play.
Please get rid of the managment an start rebuilding the team!!!
And for you out there who will reply to this message, please spare me for old statisticks.
It is history.
I think Rio will leave. He wants to save him self from a sinking ship. He is right to do so. Cash in on him.
I always thought that the objective was to score more goals than the opposition. How many more blank sheets do we have to produce before SAF recognises his tactical mistakes. As for Ferdinand.. words fail me. But would Chelski want a player who has so little heart.