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Manchester United legend Gary Neville was left baffled by one refereeing decision made during the 1-0 win over Everton.
Referee Darren England had a busy evening officiating a very physical match between Manchester United and Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Benjamin Sesko scored the winner from a lightning-quick counter-attack in the second half, and Senne Lammens dealt brilliantly with Everton’s physical threat.
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While there were no controversial penalty calls for England to make, he was called into action plenty of times as there were several interesting duels to keep an eye on across the pitch, including one between Jarrad Branthwaite and Amad Diallo.
Gary Neville baffled by referee decision that went against Man United
Branthwaite was nearly signed by United in 2024 when the Red Devils made several bids for the English centre-back.
But on Monday night, he lined up at left-back up against Amad Diallo. In the first half, Branthwaite was penalised for dragging Amad to the ground, but England refused to reach for his pocket.
Speaking on Sky Sports commentary, United legend Gary Neville said: “How that is not a yellow, I’ll never know.
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“It’s absolute madness. It’s one of the most consistent yellows you see – the pulling of the shirt.”
Branthwaite ended the match without a yellow card, but an early warning would have given Amad a huge advantage for the rest of the match as the 23-year-old would have to have been extra careful.
Jarrad Branthwaite vs Amad Diallo duel in numbers
Carrick stuck with a fluid front four to face Everton, with Bryan Mbeumo staying central to give space for Amad on the right.
Up against Branthwaite, United’s tricky winger did have some joy. As per SofaScore, Amad completed two dribbles and carried the ball for a total distance of 147 metres.
As for Branthwaite, he only won one of his four tackles, four of his eight duels and was dribbled past twice by United players.
As pointed out by Neville, he was lucky to escape a yellow card early on and much of United’s attacking joy came down the right.
Ineos may be glad they didn’t overspend on the 23-year-old defender a couple of years ago.
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