The Premier League have released a statement explaining why Everton’s penalty was overturned in the final minute of their clash with Manchester United.

Everton had raced to a two-goal advantage when Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure netted in the first half to send Goodison Park into raptures.

United were blasted for their first-half showing, but Ruben Amorim‘s men were able to muster up a comeback in the second half, with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte putting the visitors on level terms.

An end-to-end battle ensued in the final 15 minutes of the match, with the flashpoint coming in the final minute of added time.

Ashley Young had gained a yard on the United defence, with it looking as if Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt both made contact with the Everton substitute.

Andrew Madley immediately pointed to the penalty spot – much to the dismay of the United players.

A lengthy VAR review followed, with Madley eventually opting to overturn his original decision after watching a replay on the monitor.

Taking to social media to explain the referee’s decision, the Premier League Match Centre account posted on X: “VAR checked the referee’s call of penalty to Everton for a challenge by Maguire on Young and deemed that no foul had been committed and recommended an on-field review.

“The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with an indirect free-kick.”

There was much more defence for the referee’s actions in the United camp, with both Amorim and captain Bruno Fernandes in agreement it should’ve been overturned.

The Portuguese tactician said to TNT Sports: “I think it was a soft touch from what I saw. I think it was a soft penalty, it was clear.”

His compatriot Fernandes added: “No, no, the referee said that the arm was very close from the body so that is nothing to do with us.

“We had our chances in the second half but the problem is that we started too late. We didn’t win the first half, there wasn’t enough movement, we were too static and it was difficult to create in some situations.

Regardless of the penalty decision, it was another chastening afternoon for United, as Amorim’s methods continue to be questioned.

Continuing his debrief, he said: “In training, we have to continue to do the same. In the second half, we changed nothing. We have to do the same thing but in a good way. We have to improve on creating chances and in this game also we struggle with scoring goals.

“I don’t know, if I know, I will change it. Everything we do in the week, we have to do better in the game. In this moment, we need to focus on day by day.

“We need to survive this season and then we can think ahead. I don’t want to just say the negative part. In the second half, we were close to win this game.”

United return to action in mid-week at Old Trafford against Ipswich Town.