Everton employed controversial tactics when taking corners against Manchester United, which has surprisingly prompted David Moyes to urge Premier League referees to take control.
Manchester United beat Everton 1-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night to reclaim a place in the Premier League’s top four.
To do so, Michael Carrick’s side relied on Benjamin Sesko to come off the bench and score the only goal, while Senne Lammens had to deal with an aerial bombardment for the final 20 minutes.
A major talking point from the game was Everton’s corner kicks and how they tried to swarm Lammens between the sticks. This meant the defending players had to work extra hard to protect the goalkeeper as United kept their first clean sheet away from home this season.
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Senne Lammens clears the ball during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2026 in Liverpool, England.
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David Moyes breaks silence on Everton’s controversial corner kicks against Man Utd
While Everton used some of football’s dark arts to try find a late equaliser against United, there was no way past Lammens.
The 23-year-old continues to prove himself in the Premier League as a huge upgrade on both Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, especially when it comes to claiming crosses and dealing with high balls.
Everton were rightly criticised on Monday night after packing the United six-yard box with multiple players trying to block Lammens. Still, David Moyes has stressed that it wasn’t part of their preparations ahead of the match.
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The former United manager has sent a message to Premier League referees to urge them to get a grip on the game when corners are being taken.
“Truthfully, it wasn’t the plan for our corner kicks to end up like that,” Moyes told reporters, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“I don’t think there’s any problem in trying to get something but it wasn’t really what we wanted at all and it was very difficult to get the message on.
“But there’s a bigger issue with it. It has been allowed to let go, whether it be blocking of goalkeepers or blocking of defenders, and you get the feeling now that referees really don’t want to get involved in any of it.
“It is nearly wrestling to an extent, which it shouldn’t be. It should never have gone to this situation, but I think it’s been really poor that they’ve not tried to deal with it well enough and stop it.
“You are now allowed lots of blocking, for example. In my day if you blocked someone, it would have been a free-kick. But blocking has become a big part of it. Let’s be fair, the best at it – but with style – would be Arsenal.
“(They have a) good delivery, good style but ultimately there’s a lot of dark arts in it such as blocking the goalkeeper from the back or the front, blocking defenders and making it difficult for them to be your key headers of the ball.
“It is a big thing in football but I do think the level of refereeing has let that part of the game drop. And managers, if we see somebody else doing it and not getting punished for it, then we are all on it.”
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Man Utd must deal with Crystal Palace’s aerial threat
Although Crystal Palace won’t have Jean-Philippe Mateta due to injury, and Marc Guehi has left for Man City, United’s upcoming opponents are one of the most dangerous sides in the Premier League from set-pieces.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner has already hinted at taking inspiration from Everton’s tactics from Monday night, even though the Red Devils came away from the game with three points.
Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah are among Palace’s dangermen, along with United target Adam Wharton.
United will need to be at their best defensively to protect Lammens like they did earlier this week, though the Belgian is more than capable of holding his own.
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