Leighton Baines scored from the spot late on to earn Everton a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Goodison Park this evening.
The Red Devils had led since Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 42nd-minute goal, coming at the end of a drab first half, but a late twist saw former Toffee Marouane Fellaini come off the bench and give away a penalty.
United, who should have been reduced to 10 men early in the match, have now won just one of their last eight league games and are nine points off the division's top four.
The biggest talking point in a first half lacking any real entertainment came 16 minutes in, as Marcos Rojo lunged in on Idrissa Gueye with both feet off the ground but somehow escaped with just a yellow card.
Paul Pogba and Ramiro Funes Mori both tried their luck from more than 30 yards out, but neither could trouble the opposition keeper in a sign of things to come.
Despite lacking too many attacking ideas, largely due to a safety-first approach, Everton did have some joy down United's left flank and created their only real opening via that route.
Romelu Lukaku played Yannick Bolasie around the back, but the wideman could neither test David de Gea nor pick out teammate Kevin Mirallas as the frustrating first half continued, while Tom Cleverley also saw his scuffed shot plucked out of the air.
Just when the opening 45 minutes looked to be heading for a goalless conclusion, Ibrahimovic latched on to a simple ball over the top and made the most of former Ajax teammate Maarten Stekelenburg's poor decision to race out of goal.
Ibrahimovic got his lobbed finish just about right, with the ball bouncing once, hitting the crossbar, spinning on to the post and then eventually crossing the line for his sixth goal in five outings.
The second half started with another contentious decision, as Ibrahimovic appeared to leave a boot in when landing heavily on top of Seamus Coleman, who was replaced soon after as he was unable to shake off the injury to his shoulder.
Bolasie hobbled off just a minute or so later, himself picking up an injury when shoved off the ball by Anthony Martial and landing awkwardly on his knee.
Those alterations came after a six-minute spell of United pressure, which culminated in Ander Herrera firing a shot against the crossbar, but De Gea was also required to keep out Mirallas's low shot - his first save of the match.
United, who headed into this game on the back of their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1990, were having to rely on De Gea to protect their lead in he final quarter of the contest.
The Spaniard parried a ferocious Gueye drive from 25 yards out, before helping a flicked header over his crossbar immediately after as the pressure started to grow on his side.
Substitute Enner Valencia met a right-sided cross with eight minutes left to play, which he headed right at De Gea down the middle, but the Toffees' big moment finally arrived just minutes later.
Fellaini was brought off the bench for his 100th United appearance with the intention of retaining the slender lead, though his first act was to halt the run of Gueye inside the box, which led to Michael Oliver pointing to the spot.
Baines, denied by De Gea once before from the spot, made no mistake on this occasion to ensure that Everton's unbeaten run at Goodison Park since the start of the season continues.
Daniel Lewis
