Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s (£4.9m) first-half strike proved to be the difference at Old Trafford, as 10-man Everton secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United.
Here’s what we saw in Gameweek 12’s final match.
AMORIM ON CUNHA
Manchester United were without Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) for Monday’s encounter with Everton, after the Brazilian suffered a reported head injury in training over the weekend.
Ruben Amorim suggested that it was “nothing serious” prior to kick-off.
“It was a knock in training so I don’t know how long he’s going to stay out, I think it’s nothing serious, but we cannot risk players.” – Ruben Amorim on Matheus Cunha
UNITED “NOT THERE”
United have arguably the most favourable set of fixtures over the next nine Gameweeks, but their performance on Monday massively underwhelmed.
Although they won the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.41 to 0.19, it didn’t entirely reflect the true nature of the match, with Everton comfortable for large periods, even while playing with 10 men.
With Cunha absent, Joshua Zirkzee (£5.8m) subsequently got the nod up front.
But United lacked a cutting edge, despite Bruno Fernandes’ (£8.9m) best efforts.
In a deeper role, the Portuguese produced five shots in total, including one Opta-defined ‘big chance’, but has nothing to show for it. In a further blow for his owners, he also finished on 11 defensive contributions (DefCon), just one short of the threshold.
Gameweek 12’s most-bought player, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.6m) had a shot parried by Jordan Pickford (£5.5m), but like Fernandes, lacked that final bit of quality to make a difference.
“We are not there, not even near the point we should be to fight for the best positions in the league. We have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win games. We were not perfect today.” – Ruben Amorim
MOYES’ DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS
Monday’s win at Old Trafford was a tactical triumph for Everton, who have now kept back-to-back clean sheets.
They had only three shots overall, and none after Dewsbury-Hall’s 29th-minute winner, but they defended their box superbly, showing real grit and determination.
This was achieved despite facing numerous challenges, with Seamus Coleman (£4.3m) injured within the first 10 minutes and Idrissa Gueye (£5.4m) sent off shortly after for inexplicably striking a teammate.
Pickford made six saves on the night, including a superb stop to deny Zirkzee’s header, amassing 10 points.
“I felt in the moment all game and I work hard every day on the training pitch to put in performances and saves like that. To put in that performance and get a clean sheet – another one, which makes it back-to-back now – is the Everton way. The lads kept me out of trouble sometimes and I get them out of trouble other times – that’s part of a team sport.” – Jordan Pickford
James Tarkowski (£5.4m), meanwhile, banked DefCon points for the eighth time this season – only Marcos Senesi (£5.0m) has produced more:
Above: Outfield players sorted by defensive contribution points (DC) in 2025/26
Defensive colleagues Michael Keane (£4.5m) and Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.9m) also collected extra DefCon points in Gameweek 12.
As for Gueye, there’s a chance he might not play for Everton again until late January, as he now faces a three-match ban, and by the time he’s back, he could be called up by Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
DEWSBURY-HAUL
Everton went in front when Dewsbury-Hall sent a lovely curling effort into the top corner.
The driving force from midfield, he produced 13 points in total, thanks to his goal, DefCon and the maximum bonus.
Notably, Dewsbury-Hall is now up to 48 points for the season, the most of any midfielder under £5.0m.
“He has been playing really well. His goal is exactly what we want from him. He has been a bit unlucky maybe to not hit a couple more this season. He has been a big help to us as a team and has helped us improve. I’m really pleased for him because he works really hard and is a solid professional.” – David Moyes on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Elsewhere, Thierno Barry (£5.7m) continued up front and should be praised for his efforts. An effective outlet up front, he won 13 of his aerial duels.
“We’re trying to give Thierno that bit of consistency to get the goals, which we badly need.” – David Moyes on Thierno Barry
