GUEYE RED CARD: SHOCK SLAP TO KEANE FACE ROCKS EVERTON TEAMMATES
Everton's Idrissa Gueye received a straight red card for striking teammate Michael Keane against Man United. The violent conduct offence triggers an automatic 3-game suspension, a major blow to the Toffees' midfield ahead of AFCON.
Everton, sitting at 13th place after 12 games in the 2025/26 season, headed to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, who were in 8th.
The season had its ups and downs for Everton. A recent win against Fulham pulled them out of the relegation zone and into the middle of the standings.
Everton's defence has been shaky against the better Premier League teams, letting in multiple goals against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham. It was clear that their setup against a United team in good form would be vital.
Sadly, things took a turn when they were reduced to 10 men early in the game. This left them facing an uphill battle for most of the match.
The incident centred around midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The Senegal player lost his cool, putting his team at a major disadvantage.
Why was Idrissa Gueye sent off in the Man United game?
In the 13th minute of Monday's match against Manchester United, referee Tony Harrington showed Idrissa Gueye a straight red card.
After Bruno Fernandes of Man United missed a shot, Gueye confronted his teammate Michael Keane. This led to some pushing and shoving.
At first, it wasn't clear why Gueye was sent off. Spats between teammates are unusual, and they rarely lead to disciplinary action. It was uncertain if the card was for a physical issue or something Gueye said.
The Premier League Match Centre reported that Gueye was dismissed for a clear strike to the face of Keane.
Will Idrissa Gueye be suspended?
Even though the situation involved a teammate, the red card was given for violent behaviour.
That means Gueye will automatically be suspended for three games.
Normally, a red card for this kind of aggression would mean an even longer suspension, but that probably won't be the case here.
The scuffle was minor. It was a bit of a surprise that Gueye was sent off at all. Adding more games to the ban would feel unfair.
Still, it could be a while before Gueye is back on the field for Everton. Between his suspension and leaving for international duty with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, he'll be gone for quite a while.
The three-game ban means he'll miss at least the games against Newcastle (November 29), Bournemouth (December 2), and Nottingham Forest (December 6).
If the ban stays at three games, he could be back for Everton's away game against Chelsea on December 13. AFCON starts on December 21, and Senegal's first game is on December 23, so he will probably be gone by then. He'll be unavailable for club games until Senegal is knocked out of the tournament. The final is set for January 18.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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