‘I like my players fighting’ – David Moyes defends Idrissa Gueye after slapping Everton teammate | OneFootball

David Moyes said he likes his players fighting each other after Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping Michael Keane during Everton’s 1-0 victory at Manchester United. 

The Everton pair started arguing with each other in the 13th minute, and Keane pushed Gueye away before the Senegalese hit him with an open hand. 

Referee Tony Harrington showed the defensive midfielder a straight red card for violent conduct. 

Moyes later defended Gueye, saying he likes his players fighting each other. 

He said (per The Guardian): “I like my players fighting each other, if someone didn’t do the right action. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it.

“If nothing happened [no red card], I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised. I thought the referee could have taken a bit longer to think about it. I was told that [by] the rules of the game that if you slap your own player, you could be in trouble.

“I’m disappointed we got the sending off. But we’ve all been footballers, we get angry with our teammates. He’s apologised for the sending off, he’s praised the players and thanked them for it and apologised.”

Gueye’s dismissal meant Everton were forced to play for over an hour with ten-men against United. 

But the visitors showed great response, as they took a shocking lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s brilliant strike in the 29th-minute. 

Man Utd chased an equaliser, but they failed to find a way past Everton’s resolute defence, with Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski, and Keane deserving huge credit for that. 

With the latest victory, Everton have climbed to 11th in the Premier League table with 18 points from 12 matches. 

The mood around the Merseyside club has been very cheerful in recent weeks. 

The Toffees played out a 1-1 draw at Sunderland earlier this month, before beating Fulham 2-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. 

And now they have claimed a huge victory against United in their first match after the international break. 

Moyes’ men will look to continue their good form when they host Newcastle United on Saturday.