Ally McCoist shocked by Everton v Manchester United controversy after what he saw
Everton had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Saturday as they welcomed Manchester United to Goodison Park for the final time.
The Toffees were in cruise control before the break, firing two goals through Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure before Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte clawed back a point for United.
The most controversial moment of the match was reserved for second-half stoppage time, when right at the death Ashley Young looked to be brought down and Andy Madley awarded a penalty.
Upon being recommended for a VAR monitor review, referee Madley then overturned his own decision to bail out Ruben Amorim’s side, much to the chagrin of the Goodison crowd.
Everton penalty verdict issued by McCoist
Everton fans will feel harshly treated in the dying stages at Goodison Park as if they were robbed of the chance to restore their lead without enough time for Man United to respond.
Young went to ground after Andre Onana had made an unconvincing parried save, while challenged from either side by Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.
Ally McCoist, summarising the showdown for TNT Sports (22 February), argued he would have given the spot-kick as there was enough contact on former Old Trafford star Young to constitute a foul.
“Oh my goodness. The drama. Could Andre Onana push it away? That’s a penalty,” McCoist roared.
“Wow. You know something, I can see why he’s not given it, but I would have given it.
“I think there’s enough of a tug on [Young].”
NO PENALTY- DRAMA AT THE END!!!
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 22, 2025
Upon review, Everton do NOT have a late penalty against Man United! 😱 pic.twitter.com/HuCJVpf9NI
Moyes’ men stretch unbeaten run to six
Everton supporters may head home wondering what might have been, but in the grand scheme, they are now six unbeaten in the Premier League.
A run like that would have been unimaginable at the start of the campaign while the Blues were struggling to frankly hit a barn door.
The draw maintains the Toffees’ place above Amorim’s side in the table, another unfathomable concept some months ago, but the circumstances render the Gwladys Street gutted with how it panned out.
It’s a sign of their progress that Everton are so unhappy with a draw against Manchester United, but the penalty incident was certainly one that would have been given at least 90 per cent of the time.
The discourse will continue on the controversy of the officiating, but at the same time, the form of the likes of Beto represents a microcosm of the 180-degree turn of the form under Moyes.