On the verge of a club record run of 14 successive league games without a win? Enter Burnley. It had been 13 games since Everton beat the Clarets in December, but they claimed a huge three points at Goodison Park to steer further clear of the relegation zone.
Must-win is a term often frequented at this time of the season for sides struggling at the foot of the table, but today that rang especially true for Everton and Burnley.
Perhaps less so for the Toffees who had a four point cushion to the drop zone prior to today, but they know that advantage could very easily be wiped out if they don’t pick up some results soon, and they could very well have fallen behind early here when a Seamus Coleman block denied Charlie Taylor’s goal-bound effort.
The game in general was lacking in attacking quality, but Jacob Bruun Larsen almost provided that moment when he curled a free-kick narrowly over from the edge of the area. But so often has been the case this season, and just as it was on Tuesday against Wolves too, the Clarets crumbled on the stroke of half-time.
It was in somewhat comical fashion too, as Arijanet Muric took too long with his attempted clearance and his punt upfield was blocked by Calvert-Lewin and it ricocheted into the unguarded net.
That was just the incentive Everton needed to kick into life, and Muric and Calvert-Lewin were soon duelling again after the break, but this time the Kosovan was more assured to deny the Toffees frontman at his near post.
Turning around a deficit was always likely to be tough for Burnley, and their task wasn’t helped when Dara O’Shea was dismissed when he felled Dwight McNeil and prevented what was deemed to be a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Give Burnley their due, it would’ve been easy to crumble from there, but they did come close to finding an unlikely equaliser when Josh Brownhill curled over.
Unfortunately for them, they’re inching ever closer to the Championship, but it’s a much different story for Everton, who pulled further away from the drop zone, and with four of their fellow bottom-six sides still to come, they’ll feel confident they’ve got enough to beat the drop.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
