Perhaps it should be no surprise that Everton won away at Manchester United, despite being without Idrissa Gueye for most of the game. After all, no top-flight side has more experience of playing with a man down than the Toffees.
Gueye’s sending off after 13 minutes was the 110th time an Everton player has been dismissed in the Premier League, the joint-highest figure in the competition along with Arsenal.
Eight of the Toffees’ red cards have been shown to legendary hardman and cult hero Duncan Ferguson, another shared record, this time with Patrick Vieira and Richard Dunne.
While Gueye, 36, is old enough to know better than to scrap with team-mates, his disciplinary record is good for a defensive midfielder. This was only his second red card in English football, and his first since 2017.
Everton and Arsenal’s tally equates to roughly one sending off every 12 matches and three per season, a significant disadvantage in a sport where fine margins matter.