Manchester United narrowly edged out Everton 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, and one of the talking points of the game was the hosts’ opener.
The Red Devils were awarded a penalty after referee Jon Moss adjudged Idrissa Gueye’s tackle on Anthony Martial a foul.
Paul Pogba’s initial effort from the spot was saved by Jordan Pickford, but the Frenchman quickly pounced on the rebound to hand United the lead.
Martial doubled their advantage in the second half, and it was too little, too late for the Toffees when Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back from the spot with 13 minutes to play.
The result dealt a blow on Everton given the great performance they put in, and things might have been different if the controversial penalty hadn’t been awarded.
“That was not a penalty. Idrissa Gana Gueye clearly got a touch on the ball and you could see it change direction,” Clattenburg wrote in his Daily Mail column post-match.
“After the Everton midfielder won the ball, Anthony Martial exaggerated his movement to make it look like a penalty.
“With his assistant on the far side unable to help him, referee Jon Moss would have wanted to get a better angle to assess the challenge.”
The English top-flight doesn’t use the VAR (Video-assistant referee) which would have helped Moss out, and the Frenchman wouldn’t have been awarded the spotkick had the ref had a chance to review the incidence.
Everton surely feel hard done-by with that singular decision that had a huge say on the outcome of the match, and will only hope to get luckier going forward.
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