Everton lifted their relegation fears – if only for a few days – with a precious victory over fellow strugglers Burnley thanks to a gift of a goal from the visiting goalkeeper, Arijanet Muric, and Dara O’Shea’s straight red card for a foul on Dwight McNeil. Luck was on Sean Dyche’s side as his team avoided equalling a club record 14 matches without a win and it was certainly required on a gruelling afternoon.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for the second game in succession after turning Muric’s clearance into the Burnley net on the stroke of half-time. Everton, who are expected to suffer a second points deduction of the season next week for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules, endured a nervous finale against Vincent Kompany’s side but held out for their first league win since taking three points at Turf Moor in December. Burnley really had only themselves to blame for their four-match unbeaten run coming to a damaging end.
The importance of the relegation battle was lost on no one, with Goodison Park suitably tense, but the reason why both teams have toiled this season was also abundantly clear through a tedious first half. The opening 46 minutes were a complete non-event, bereft of quality, incident or any sense of urgency, until Everton fluked a breakthrough in stoppage time.
It was a moment to forget for Muric. Kompany’s belated decision to recall the Burnley goalkeeper has contributed to the team’s recent upturn in form, with Muric’s distribution part of the overall improvement. But not here. At the end of a first half that only an insomniac could enjoy, the Kosovo international dwelt too long over a routine clearance and gave Calvert-Lewin time to close in. The Everton striker stuck out his right leg in hope, Muric’s delayed clearance cannoned into it, and the ball looped over the keeper and sailed into the empty net. The opener was almost identical to Darwin Nunez’s for Liverpool against Sheffield United on Thursday. For Calvert-Lewin, who ended a 23-game run without a goal with his late penalty against Newcastle on Tuesday, it was evidence his luck in front of goal had finally turned.
How Everton needed it. Jarrad Branthwaite’s immaculate defending distinguished him from a very ordinary crowd. Dyche deployed a safety-conscious right wing with a combined age of 73 in Séamus Coleman and Ashley Young. With Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gana Gueye injured, André Gomes made only his second Premier League start of the season in central midfield. Gomes’s presence offered hope of an improvement in Everton’s distribution but it was another hard watch as long punts sailed out of play and Burnley absorbed pressure with ease.
The visitors produced the more enterprising moments before falling behind. Coleman blocked a goal-bound shot from Charlie Taylor after Lorenz Assignon and Lyle Foster had combined well down the right, while James Tarkowski made an important clearance when Assignon turned McNeil and almost teed up David Fofana in front of goal. Fofana should have done better with a near-post header from a Josh Cullen corner but miscued his connection straight at Jordan Pickford.
Burnley’s chances of a recovery suffered a significant setback when they aimed both barrels at their own feet for a second time. O’Shea was under no pressure when receiving a pass from Sander Berge but lost concentration and allowed the ball to run away from him. McNeil was on the loose ball in an instant and would have been clean through on goal, but with plenty of ground to make up, when he was sent sprawling by the defender’s desperate attempt at a recovery tackle. The referee, Michael Oliver, showed O’Shea a straight red card and the visitors were truly up against it. They reacted well, in fairness, and caused Everton plenty of palpitations with 10 men. Wilson Odobert released Cullen inside the area only for Branthwaite to intercept once again. Josh Brownhill, introduced after O’Shea’s dismissal, went close with an angled shot across goal.
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Everton did improve in the second half, certainly in terms of their aggression and pressing. Calvert-Lewin was denied by the feet of Muric after seizing on a mistake by Assignon and turning O’Shea. The match-winner also fired over after darting across the Burnley area while his replacement, Beto, was unable to capitalise on several openings on the counterattack in the closing stages.