April 07, (THEWILL) – Everton’s relegation fears deepened when they were defeated 3-2 by Burnley at Turf Moor in their midweek English Premier League fixture on Wednesday.
An end-to-end encounter in which both teams led at different times was ultimately determined by a late strike from Maxwel Cornet, who took advantage of some careless defending from the visitors to score a goal that might define Burnley’s season.
The game got off to a good start, with Ashley Westwood getting the opening chance after only ten minutes. He got space on the edge of the box, but his curled effort sailed just beyond Jordan Pickford’s far post.
After some bad piece of defending from Everton, the Clarets seized the lead through Nathan Collins, who ripped away from the crowd following a corner and side-footed the ball into the bottom corner.
Everton, on the other hand, were given a chance to come back into the game shortly after when Anthony Gordon was given a penalty, which Richarlison converted from 12 yards.
Everton’s confidence was boosted as a result, and the Toffees continued to press for another goal to get into the lead, with Richarlison coming close to adding a second soon after.
Everton were granted a second penalty five minutes before halftime following a clumsy foul by Aaron Lennon, and Richarlison hit his effort in the same fashion to put his side 2-1 ahead at the break.
Although Burnley started the second half on the ascendancy, Richarlison came close to adding a third with a thunderous attempt just off Nick Pope’s post.
Burnley capitalised on Everton’s miss when Jay Rodriguez equalised in the 57th minute. From within the six-yard box, the attacker made a clever move into space and tapped home a Charlie Taylor cross.
Frank Lampard’s side did not let this one slow them down, and they were fairly dominant in their pursuit of the game’s fifth goal, but they did not really put Pope to the test.
As the game progressed, it began to feel almost like a basketball contest, with both teams flying at one other, but it was Burnley that began to make their presence felt the most.
And it was the hosts that scored the game-winning goal with five minutes remaining. Cornet was on the receiving end of a cut-back this time, and the winger thundered home to secure all three points.
The result sees Burnley close the gap on Everton to just one point, moving up to 18th place, the final relegation spot. Everton are now in real danger of slipping into the relegation zone, and with games remaining against Chelsea, Manchester United, and local rival Liverpool, things are looking gloomy for the Toffees as the season draws to a close.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
