Everton 1 Burnley 0
If you were to pitch Everton Football Club on Dragon’s Den as soon as Deborah Meaden had asked about your accounts from the last three years all hope would be lost. Peter Jones would follow up, ‘listen you seem a nice person but this isn’t an investable business, you need to do something else but I wish you all the best.’
The Toffees welcomed Burnley to Goodison Park for a proverbial six-pointer. Having failed to win in their last thirteen games, Sean Dyche’s side were becoming desperate. Nothing but victory would do as they squared-off against relegation threatened rivals.
The Clarets started to threaten in the early stages. As Everton half-cleared the ball, it broke to Taylor on the edge of the box. He drilled a shot at goal but it struck Coleman in the box. The visitors appealed for a handball but the referee was not interested.
Vincent Kompany’s side continued to probe and forced a corner. Fofana lost his marker in the box and had a completely free header. Sadly for Burnley he did not get a good contact and directed it straight at Pickford in the Everton goal.
Credit: @Everton
Goodison Park was like a library by this stage. Even Peter Reid was on TikTok on his phone in the stands. Sean Dyche’s side needed to do something to wake this crowd up. Then Burnley keeper Arijanet Muric said ‘hold my pint’.
As the visitors tried to play out from the back, the keeper dwelled on the ball for what seemed like an age. Muric looked to play the ball out but it was charged down by Calvert-Lewin. It ricocheted off the striker and ended up in the back of the net.
Kompany had decided that this was his first choice keeper, with Trafford resigned to life on the bench. That may well change soon. Burnley are not a side that can afford to give goals away like this, with games fast running out.
Assignon then slipped and gave the ball away in the final third. Calvert-Lewin seized upon it, beat his man and found himself with only the keeper to beat. The Toffees’ striker drilled the ball straight at Muric, who made the block, when a more composed finish was needed.
The problem seemed to be contagious in the Burnley side. As the ball was played to O’Shea, a poor first touch allowed McNeil to skip past him, before the defender lunged in. He wiped out the winger and as the last man, was given his marching orders.
Despite being down to ten men, The Clarets looked to find an equaliser. The ball was worked to Brownhill on the corner of the box. He tried to bend one in the top corner with Pickford rooted to the spot. His effort narrowly missed the goal.
Credit: @Everton
Calvert-Lewin picked the ball up out wide and cut inside into the box. As he dropped the shoulder and ran across the box, he fired a shot off at goal but got under it too much. He is looking like a striker devoid of form, despite his bizarre goal to win the game.
Everton held on for all three points, which seemed to upset Premier League bosses. No less than 48 hours later they announced a further two-point deduction for their second financial breach. Easy come, easy go. It seems the relationship Everton have with points this season.
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